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SOUTH   AMERICAN 
ARCH^  O  LOGY 


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SOUTH    AMERICAN 

ARCHAEOLOGY 

AN  INTRODUCTION  TO  THE  ARCHiE- 
OLOGY  OF  THE  SOUTH  AMERICAN 
CONTINENT  WITH  SPECIAL  REFERENCE 
TO  THE  EARLY  HISTORY  OF  PERU.  BY 
THOMAS  A.  JOYCE,  M.A.  WITH  NUMEROUS 
ILLUSTRATIONS  AND  A  MAP 


LONDON 

THE    MEDICI    SOCIETY,    LTD 

BOSTON 

THE    MEDICI    SOCIETY    OF    AMERICA 


PRINTED    IN    ENGLAND 


PREFACE 

IT  is  not  without  great  diffidence  that  I  have  ven- 
tured to  compile  the  following  chapters  on  the 
archaeology  of  South  America.  The  subject  is  one  of 
great  magnitude,  and  the  literature  dealing  with  it  is 
vast.  Besides  this,  there  exist  so  many  gaps  in  our 
knowledge,  gaps  which  can  only  be  filled  by  years  of 
patient  excavation,  that  the  formation  of  theories  is 
still  a  precarious  task.  At  the  same  time  it  is  useful 
to  pass  in  review  the  work  which  has  already  been 
completed,  with  the  object  both  of  pointing  out  the 
missing  links  in  the  chain  of  evidence,  and  of  stimulat- 
ing further  research  by  calling  attention  to  the  results 
already  achieved.  Again,  much  of  the  literature  is 
scattered  broadcast  in  the  pages  of  scientific  journals, 
and  therefore  escapes  the  notice  of  the  general  reader  ; 
while  the  fact  that  a  large  proportion  of  it  is  in 
German,  Spanish  or  Portuguese,  renders  it  inaccessible 
to  many  would-be  students.  Thanks  to  the  labours 
of  Sir  Clements  Markham,  backed  by  the  Hakluyt 
Society,  many  of  the  early  chroniclers  have  now  been 
translated  into  English,  but  there  exist  numbers  of 
more  recent  treatises,  all  of  great  value,  written  by 
investigators  in  South  America,  which  are  not  likely  to 
find  a  translator.  This  country  has  taken  little  part,  in 
recent  years,  in  the  scientific  exploration  of  the  South 
American  continent.  Expeditions  from  Germany, 
France,  Sweden  and  the  United  States  have  been 
productive  of  the  most  valuable  results,  but  this  rich 
field  for  archaeological  enterprise  has  been  strangely 
neglected  by  England.     The  national  collection  con- 


viii  PREFACE 

tains  a  fairly  representative  series  of  objects  illustrating 
the  archaeology  of  South  America,  including  many 
specimens  of  great  value  ;  but  the  collection  is  small, 
and  some  regions,  such  as  the  Argentine  Republic  and 
Brazil,  are  poorly  represented,  while  certain  classes  of 
Peruvian  pottery  are  entirely  lacking.  If  this  book  can 
in  the  smallest  degree  help  to  stimulate  interest  in  the 
early  remains  of  South  America,  some  of  which  are 
among  the  most  remarkable  in  the  world,  the  purpose 
of  the  author  will  be  achieved.  As  for  the  book  itself, 
no  claim  for  completeness  can  be  put  forward  ;  I  have 
conscientiously  tried  to  neglect  no  important  source  of 
information,  and  if  I  have  omitted  any  such  I  apologize, 
not  so  much  to  the  reader,  as  to  the  worker  whose  re- 
searches have  thus  passed  unnoticed  by  me. 

To  Dr.  Uhle,  the  Director  of  the  Museum  at  Lima, 
I  owe  a  great  debt  of  gratitude,  not  only  for  permission 
to  publish  certain  of  the  illustrations,  notably  the  frontis- 
piece, but  also  for  his  kindness  in  discussing  by  corre- 
spondence a  number  of  questions  relative  to  the  early 
period  in  Peru,  and  in  generously  contributing  some 
essential  information.  To  Miss  Breton  I  must  also  ex- 
press my  thanks,  for  permitting  me  to  select  from  her 
sketches  the  fine  water-colour  which  appears  as  Plate  I ; 
and  again  to  Col.  F.  H.  Ward,  for  placing  at  my  dis- 
posal his  collection  of  South  American  photographs. 
To  Dr.  C.  H.  Read,  P.S.A.,  of  the  British  Museum 
I  owe  much,  not  only  for  his  permission  to  photograph 
many  of  the  objects  in  the  national  collection,  but  for 
his  advice  and  instruction  on  innumerable  points  con- 
nected with  this  subject  ;  and  to  Mr.  Henry  Balfour, 
Curator  of  the  Pitt- Rivers  Museum  at  Oxford,  I  am 
indebted  for  the  photograph  of  Peruvian  skulls  on 
Plate  IX.  I  wish  also  to  thank  Dr.  E.  A.  Wallis  Budge 
of  the  British  Museum  for  the  interest  which  he  has 
taken  in  the  book,  which,  in  fact,  owes  its  inception  to 
him.     My  acknowledgments  are  due  also  to  the  Editor 


PREFACE  ix 

of  The  Times  for  permission  to  republish  part  of  an 
article  which  appeared  in  the  South  American  supple- 
ment of  September  27th,  19 10.  Finally  I  would 
thank  Messrs.  C.  J.  Praetorius  and  Norman  H.  Hardy, 
and  also  my  wife,  for  the  care  they  have  expended  on 
the  pen-and-ink  drawings  which  constitute  not  the  least 
attractive  feature  of  the  volume. 

T.    A.   JOYCE. 

London, 

Marcfi^  191 2 


CONTENTS 


CHAPTER  TAGE 

Introduction         ......  I 

I.     Colombia        .......  8 

II.     Colombia  {continued)         .         .         .         .         .27 

III.  Ecuador         .......       47 

IV.  The  Growth  ok   iHii  Peruvian  Empire        .        75 
V.     Peru  :    Government       .....       99 

VI.  Peru:  Daily  Life  and  Occupations     .          .      117 

VII.  Peru  :  Burial  and  Religion          .          .          .      144 

VIII.  Peru  :  The  Sequence  of  Cultures      .         .168 

IX.  Peru  :  Arts  and  Crafts      ....     193 

X.     The  Southern   Provinces  of  the  Peruvian 

Empire       .         .         .         .         .         .         .216 

XI.     The  Southern  Andes  and  Plains        .         .  236 

XII.     East  and  Central  South  America      .         .  255 

Appendix        .         .         .         .         .         .         •  ^75 

Index 283 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

PLATE    IN   COLOURS 

TE 

l.     Peru  :  Pottery  from  Nasca      ,         .          .       Frontispiece 
PLATES    IN    HALF-TONE 


FACING     PAGE 


IL     Colombia  :    Pottery  Vases,  and  Miscellaneous 
Objects  of  Pottery,  Stone  and  Copper 
:  Pottery  Vases 
and    Ecuador :    Examples   of    Gold 


III. 

Colombia 

IV. 

Colombia 

work 

V. 

Colombia 

Ecuador : 

VL 

Ecuador : 

VII. 

Ecuador : 

:   Gold  Helmet 
Stone  Seat       .... 

Pottery  .... 

Ecuador  :  Pottery  Vases  and  Copper  Discs 
Peru  :   Polygonal  Masonry  at  Cuzco 
VIII.     Ecuador  and  Peru  :  Pottery  Vases,  and  Wood 
carvings  from  the  Macabi  Islands 
IX.     Peru  :  Doll,  Quipus,  and   Feather- work   Head 
dress  ...... 

Artificially  deformed  Skulls 
Inca  Hous  ^  near  Ollantaitambo 
Chullpas  near  Lake  Titicaca  . 
The  Fortress  of  Ollantaitambo 
Balsas  on  Lake  Titicaca 
Niche  in  Inca  Wall  at  Cuzxo 
Inca  Palace,  Valley  of  Pisco 
Sacsahuaman  Fortress  at  Cuzco 
"  Convent  "  at  Pachacamac 
Stucco  Reliefs  at  Chanchan  . 


X. 

Peru 

XL 

Peru 

XII. 

Peru 

XIII. 

Peru 

XIV. 

Peru 

XV. 

Peru 

XVI. 

Peru 

32 

42 
62 
62 

70 

76 
76 

86 

102 
12H 
132 
132 

134 
138 

138 

140 

146 

150 

150 


XIV 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


PLATE  FACING     PAGE 

XVII.     Peru:    ''Seats"   cut   in   the   rock   near   Lake 

Titicaca   .......      156 

The  Intihuatana  at  Pisac       .  .  .156 

XVIII.      Peru  (Bolivia) :  Models  of  Carved  Stone  Blocks      1 70 
The  Megalithic  Stairway  at  Tiahuanaco      1 70 
XIX.     Peru  (Bolivia):   The  Monolithic   Gateway  at 

Tiahuanaco       .         .  .          .  .  .172 

XX.     Peru  :   Types  of  Pottery  Vases      .  .  .178 

XXI.     Peru:  Stone  Vessel,  and  types  of  Pottery  Vases      1 86 

XXII.     Peru :  Silver  Vessels 1 94 

Types  of  Pottery  Vases       .          .          .      194 

XXIII.  Peru  :  Textiles 204 

XXIV.  Argentina :  Diaguite  Masonry        .  .  .      224 

Carved  Monolith  .  .  .  .224 

XXV.     Argentina  :  Stone  Mortars,  Copper  Disc  and 

Ceremonial  Axe-blade        .  .  .  .      2go 

XXVI.      Argentina  :    Rock  with  Pictographs        .  .234 

Peru  and  Chile  :  Objects  of  Wood,  Bone  and 

Copper    .  .  .  .  .  .  .234 


ILLUSTRATIONS    IN   THE   TEXT 

FIGURE 

1.  Colombia :    Gold    ornaments,   and    stone   die    for 

making  reliefs          ..... 

2.  Colombia :  Pottery      .... 

3.  Ecuador  :  Stone  relief,  from  Manabi    . 

4.  Ecuador  :  Stone  axe-blades  and  club-heads 

5.  Ecuador  :  Copper  axe-blades  p^d  mace-heads 

6.  Ecuador :  Pottery       .... 

7.  Series   of  Maps    illustrating   the    Growth   of  the 

Peruvian  Empire     .... 
H.     Peru  :   Hunting  scene,  from  a  vase 
9.     Peru :   Fishing  scene  ,,        ,, 

10.  Peru  :  Warriors  fighting   ,,        ,, 

11.  Peru:  Personal  ornaments 

12.  Peru:  Plan  of  Inca  dwelling,  near  Ollantaitambo 


36 

43 

63 
68 

69 

72 

83 
I24 

126 

127 
130 

132 


ILLUSTRATIONS  xv 

FIGURE  PAGE 

13.  Peru  :  Types  of  dwellings,  from  vases         .  .139 

14.  Peru  :  Mummy,  from  Ancon        ....      145 

15.  Peru  :  Ceremonial  dance,  from  a  vase  .  '      ^5S 

16.  Peru    (Bolivia) :    Sketch-plan    of    the    megalithic 

enclosure  at  Tiahuanaco           .          .          .  .169 

17.  Peru  (Bolivia) :  Central  figure  of  PI.  XIX.  .      171 

18.  Peru  (Bolivia) :  Side  figures         ?>         »  •      172 

19.  Peru  :    Sculptured     monolith,    from    Chavin  de 

Huantar  .  .  .  .  .          .  .176 

20.  Peru  :  Designs  in  the  Tiahuanaco  style,  from  vases      178 

183 

199 

200 


21.  Peru  and  Argentina  :  Designs  from  vases 

22.  Peru  :  Pottery  vase  and  trumpet,  from  Truxillo 

23.  Peru  :   Fragment  of  textile,  from  Truxillo    . 

24.  Peru  :  Detail  of  the  above 
25-     Peru  :  Tapestry,   needles  and  whorls,  and  textile 

designs  .  .... 

26.  Peru  (Bolivia)  :  Stone  cup  (fragment),  from  Tia 

huanaco  ...... 

27.  Peru  :  Objects  of  copper  and  stone,  from  the  high 

lands      ....... 

28.  Argentina :  Pottery    ..... 
2q.     Argentina :  Pottery     ..... 

30.  Argentina  :  Objects  of  copper 

31.  Chile  and  Patagonia  :  Objects  of  stone 

32.  Chile  and  Patagonia  :   Flaked  stone  implements 

33.  Brazil :  Objects  of  stone  and  pottery  . 

34.  Argentina  and  Brazil :  Pottery  fragments  and  en- 

graved designs  from  vases 

35.  Brazil  :  Engraved  designs  derived  from  the  human 

face,  from  vases       ..... 

36.  Brazil :  Vase,  from  Marajo  Island 

37.  Brazil  :  Pottery  burial-urn,  from  Para 


201 
207 

211 

227 
229 
232 
247 

259 

261 

263 
265 
267 


MAPS 

Series  of  Maps  illustrating  the  Growth  of  the  Peruvian 

Empire  (Fig.  7)        .......        83 

South  America   .......     FoUer  at  end 


South  American  Archaeology 


INTRODUCTION 

CERTAIN  of  the  early  chroniclers  who  wrote  of 
South  America,  when  they  did  not  take  the  Flood 
as  their  starting-point,  prefaced  their  remarks  with  a 
disquisition  on  the  existence  of  the  antipodes.  Though, 
at  the  present  date,  either  of  these  topics  would  hardly 
be  regarded  as  relevant  to  the  subject,  a  short  summary 
of  the  physical  history  and  geographical  features  of  the 
continent  is  necessary  for  a  proper  understanding  of 
its  archaeology.  Shaped  rather  like  an  inverted  pear, 
South  America  lies  with  the  great  bulk  of  its  territory 
within  the  tropics,  but  with  its  southern  extremity  with- 
in measurable  distance  of  the  antarctic  circle.  Though 
it  forms  at  the  present  time  a  single  land-mass,  it  must, 
at  an  early  period  of  geological  history,  have  been  a 
group  of  large  islands,  separated  by  a  wide  inland  sea. 
The  greatest  of  these  in  extent  lay  to  the  east,  and  is 
represented  to-day  by  the  Andes,  stretching  in  an  un- 
broken line  from  Panama  to  the  Straits  of  Magellan, 
and  sending  an  ofF-shoot  eastward  along  the  north  coast 
of  Venezuela.  Greater  in  area  than  this,  but  occupying 
fewer  degrees  of  latitude,  was  another  island,  which 
constitutes  at  the  present  time  the  highlands  of  Brazil, 
and  bore  a  striking  resemblance  in  outline  to  the  entire 
continent  of  which  it  was  destined  later  to  form  a  part. 
A  third  island,  smaller  than  the  other  two,  lay  to  the 
north  of  the  last,  where  the  highlands  of  the  Guianas 


2     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

attain  their  greatest  elevation.  The  great  sea  which 
they  enclosed,  a  sort  of  American  Mediterranean,  was 
thus  separated  from  the  Pacific  by  the  long  Andean 
chain,  but  communicated  with  the  Atlantic  by  channels 
represented  to-day  by  the  basins  of  the  Orinoco,  the 
Amazon,  and  the  Rio  de  la  Plata.  As  time  went  on, 
through  the  gradual  elevation  of  the  Andes  and  the 
deposits  of  alluvial  soil  washed  down  from  the  great 
islands,  this  inland  sea  gradually  disappeared,  leaving  as 
its  only  traces  the  mighty  river  systems  above  men- 
tioned, and  the  swamps  about  their  water-sheds.  Even 
at  the  present  time  these  river  systems  are  connected 
at  their  sources,  the  Orinoco  with  the  Amazon,  and  the 
Amazon  with  the  Parana  ;  and  at  the  divide  between 
the  two  latter,  the  so-called  lake  Mojos,  at  certain  sea- 
sons of  the  year  the  country  becomes  inundated  to  such 
an  extent  that  it  presents  in  miniature  a  picture  of  the 
primeval  inland  sea.  As  the  ground  appeared  above 
the  surface  of  the  waters,  it  became  covered  with  vege- 
tation, still  existing  in  the  great  forest  of  the  Amazon 
basin.  Even  the  Patagonian  plateau,  now  desert,  or 
covered  only  with  grass  and  low  scrub,  must  have  been 
wooded,  since  the  remains  of  great  sloths  have  been 
found  there,  animals  which  are  forest-dwellers.  But 
here,  as  the  land  continued  to  rise,  a  process  of  desic- 
cation set  in,  which,  combined  with  the  more  southerly 
latitude,  proved  fatal  to  the  larger  forms  of  vegetation 
and  the  fauna  which  sought  their  shelter. 

But  Patagonia  is  not  the  only  region  where  this  has 
occurred.  The  narrow  west  coast  of  South  America, 
between  the  Andes  and  the  Pacific,  is  for  the  most  part 
a  waterless  region.  Here  rain  is  exceptional,  and  be- 
yond the  range  of  the  few  short  rivers  which  empty 
themselves  into  the  Ocean  on  this  side,  the  country  is 
desert.  The  cause  of  this  lies  in  the  fact  that  the 
easterly  trade-winds,  after  supplying  with  rain  the 
eastern  portion  of  the  continent,  deposit  their  remain- 


INTRODUCTION  3 

ing  moisture  upon  the  Andes,  which  thus  rob  the  coast 
of  its  rainfall.  But  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  at 
one  time  the  Andes  were  several  thousand  feet  lower, 
and  did  not  offer  an  insurmountable  barrier  to  the  rains. 
At  this  period  the  coast  must  have  been  wooded,  and 
a  forest  must  have  stood  where  now  is  the  waterless 
desert  of  Tarapaca,  a  forest  of  which  the  only  traces  are 
the  numerous  skeletons  of  anteaters  which  once  it  har- 
boured. Further  evidence  of  the  gradual  elevation  of 
the  country  is  afforded  by  the  presence  of  beaches  now 
raised  many  feet  above  the  sea-level  and  some  miles 
from  the  coast  ;  while  it  is  evident  that  this  elevation 
has  been  proceeding  since  the  advent  of  man,  since 
traces  of  his  settlements  have  been  discovered  in  these 
raised  beaches.  At  points  along  the  coast,  however,  a 
good  deal  of  erosion  has  taken  place  and  the  victory  has 
sometimes  rested  with  the  sea. 

The  history  of  the  Brazilian  highlands  has  been  in  the 
main  the  converse  of  the  Andean  region,  since  they 
seem  to  be  the  remains  of  mountain  country  which 
once  attained  a  far  more  imposing  elevation  than  at  pre- 
sent, but  which  has  been  greatly  reduced  by  atmospheric 
agencies.  The  coast,  too,  seems  to  have  sunk  in  places, 
so  that  the  Tocantins,  which  was  once  a  tributary  of 
the  Amazon,  now  communicates  direct  with  the 
Atlantic.  But  along  the  more  southern  coast  of  Brazil 
the  land  has  encroached  locally  upon  the  sea,  a  fact 
to  which  the  presence  of  great  shell-heaps  at  some  dis- 
tance from  the  coast  bears  witness.  Where  such  variety 
of  physical  features  prevails,  a  similar  variety  of  cli- 
mate must  necessarily  follow.  Within  the  tropics, 
on  the  low-lying  coast  and  in  the  forested  plains,  the 
temperature  is  extreme,  and  aggravated  in  the  latter 
region  by  the  excessive  moisture  ;  but  in  the  uplands, 
especially  the  valleys  of  the  Andes,  conditions  more 
akin  to  those  of  the  temperate  zone  prevail  ;  while  on 
the  loftier  plateaux  the  cold  is  often  intense  and  cereals 


4     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

cannot  ripen  there.  The  open  plains  of  the  extra-tropical 
region  are  in  the  main  extremely  healthy,  but  the  coun- 
try, as  we  proceed  south,  is  more  suited  for  grazing 
than  agriculture. 

Such,  very  briefly,  is  the  environment,  and  the 
question  of  man  now  arises.  The  earliest  traces  of 
man  are  found  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  conti- 
nent, in  Buenos  Aires  and  Patagonia,  and  certain  of 
these  date  back  to  quaternary  times.  Along  the  coasts 
of  Peru,  Chile,  and  Brazil  are  found  the  remains  of  a 
very  early  population,  who  lived  chiefly  on  shellfish, 
and  who  were  probably  related  to,  and  even  contempo- 
rary with,  the  early  inhabitants  of  the  country  further 
south.  All  these  tribes  were  long-headed,  and  had  no 
knowledge  of  metals,  but  used  rough  implements  of 
shell,  bone,  and  stone.  Later  there  came  another  wave 
of  people,  distinguished  by  round  heads,  who,  with  the 
Andes  as  their  principal  home,  gradually  drove  the  early 
population  from  the  eastern  half  of  the  continent,  until 
the  inhospitable  regions  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  and  the 
dense  forests  of  the  Amazon  alone  afforded  them  shelter. 
Whence  the  two  types  of  man  came  is  a  question  which 
cannot  be  discussed  with  profit  until  geologists  are 
agreed  as  to  the  relation  of  America  to  the  other  con- 
tinents ;  but  it  is  possible  that  the  long-headed  race 
travelled  via  Greenland  from  Europe,  and  that  the 
round-heads  crossed  the  Behring  Straits  from  Asia. 
But  both  these  immigrations  must  have  occurred  at  a 
time  so  remote  that  the  invaders  brought  with  them  no 
implements,  customs,  or  even  language,  that  was  charac- 
teristically "  European  "  or  "  Asiatic,"  in  the  cultural 
senses  of  the  words.  The  evolution  of  the  various 
forms  of  culture  characteristic  of  the  different  regions 
of  South  America  was,  as  always,  in  accordance  with 
environment.  In  the  stifling  forests  but  little  progress 
was  made,  and  some  of  the  tribes  remained  at  the  lowest 
ebb  ofculture,  without  knowledge  of  weavingor  pottery. 


INTRODUCTION  5 

Here  agriculture  was  impossible,  and  hunting  the  only 
means  of  subsistence.  The  inhabitants  of  the  open 
plains  were  more  advanced,  though  they  were  com- 
pelled to  lead  a  nomadic  existence  in  search  of  the  game 
on  which  they  lived  ;  and  the  conditions  of  a  nomadic 
life  preclude  the  formation  of  organized  communities 
in  which  alone  a  high  state  of  culture  can  be  evolved. 
In  fact,  the  only  environment  suitable  to  be  the  birth- 
place of  a  civilization  are  the  fertile  valleys  of  the 
Andes,  where  the  temperature  of  the  tropics  is  tempered 
by  the  elevation,  the  soil  is  fertile,  and  water-supply  con- 
stant. Here  man  can  provide  himself  with  means  of  sub- 
sistence, not  indeed  with  the  fatal  facility  of  the  tropics 
elsewhere,  which  seems  to  discourage  all  enterprise,  but 
without  having  to  expend  the  whole  of  his  energies  on 
providing  the  necessary  food-supply,  and  so  being  left 
with  no  leisure  to  apply  to  the  perfection  of  arts  and 
crafts.  And,  in  fact,  it  is  just  in  this  region  that  South 
American  culture  reached  its  zenith,  culminating  in  the 
organized  empire  of  the  Inca,  which  the  Spaniards  found 
upon  their  arrival.  The  exact  position  of  the  Inca 
class,  the  people  originally  dominant  in  the  valley  of 
Cuzco,  has  often  been  misapprehended.  There  is  a 
tendency  to  regard  this  people  as  the  fons  el  origo  of  all 
advanced  culture  ;  as  the  creators  of  an  elaborate  and 
thoroughly  efficient  form  of  imperial  government  and 
the  inaugurators  of  a  communistic  social  system  ad- 
mirably suited  to  the  needs  and  characters  of  their  sub- 
jects. As  the  rulers  of  the  empire  they  have  been 
viewed  as  in  some  way  antithetically  opposed  to  the 
tribes  which  they  conquered,  and  the  fact  that  they 
were  originally  merely  one  of  a  large  number  of  similar 
tribes  has  been  often  overlooked.  Neither  the  form 
of  government,  nor  the  social  system,  nor  the  religion 
of  the  empire  were  invented  by  them,  but  were  common 
to  all  the  Andean  tribes  from  Colombia  to  the  Argen- 
tine highlands,  and  the  rapidity  of  the  Inca  conquest 


6     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

was  due  chiefly  to  the  fact  that  a  general  homogeneity 
of  culture  and  beliefs  underlay  all  the  local  differences 
which  might  be  expected  to  exist  between  tribe  and 
tribe.  The  picture  afforded  by  the  Colombian  tribes 
who  lived  in  the  highland  valleys  of  Cundinamarca  is 
remarkably  illustrative  of  this  fact,  and  it  is  well  known 
that  the  Inca  never  penetrated  so  far  north  ;  and,  to 
the  south,  the  Inca  empire  stopped  short  where  the 
nomadic  tribes  began,  that  is  to  say,  where  the  common 
Andean  culture  ceased.  The  genius  of  the  Inca  states- 
man lay  not  in  the  creation  of  new  forms  of  govern- 
ment, but  in  the  adaptation  of  a  constitution  devised 
for  small  states  to  the  needs  of  an  extended  empire. 

From  the  cultural  point  of  view,  therefore,  the 
peoples  of  South  America  may  be  divided  into  three — 
the  dwellers  in  the  Andes,  the  nomads  of  the  plains, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  forests  ;  and  the  order  in 
which  they  are  named  is  their  order  in  the  scale  of 
culture. 

In  the  use  of  the  term  "  Archaeology  "  as  applied  to 
America  far  greater  latitude  must  be  allowed  than  when 
the  Old  World  is  under  discussion.  Though  Ameri- 
can archaeology  goes  back  to  quaternary  times,  and 
deals  with  many  remains  which  are  prehistoric  in  the 
sense  that  they  have  no  history,  yet  it  is  usually  allowed 
to  include  within  its  sphere  all  those  manifestations  of 
higher  forms  of  culture  which  the  European  discov- 
erers found  flourishing  in  the  sixteenth  century,  and 
which  in  so  short  a  time  became  obsolete.  This  being 
so,  it  is  obvious  that  a  work  such  as  this  must  deal 
principally  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  Andean  region. 
Here  alone  we  find  an  advanced  form  of  culture,  and 
here  alone  was  preserved  any  traditional  history  of  the 
times  prior  to  the  discovery.  For  the  rest  the  archae- 
ologist must  gather  what  evidence  he  can  from  pottery 
fragments  and  stone  implements.  As  will  be  seen  in 
the  later  chapters,  this  evidence  does  not  amount  to  very 


INTRODUCTION  7 

much,  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that  scientific  explora- 
tion of  vast  areas  has  not  yet  been  effected,  and  partly 
because  so  many  of  the  finds  do  not  from  their  position 
affbrd  any  indication  of  their  date.  A  great  deal,  how- 
ever, remains  to  be  done  in  the  way  of  investigating 
the  traces  left  by  the  tribes  of  lower  culture,  but  it  is 
not  surprising  that  archaeologists  should  have  turned 
their  attention  principally  to  those  regions  where  the 
arts  and  crafts  had  reached  a  higher  stage  of  develop- 
ment, and  where  historical  evidence  could  be  applied 
to  the  elucidation  of  the  remains  and  vice  versa. 

The  present  book  deals  only  with  the  archaeology, 
as  defined  above,  of  the  actual  continent  of  South 
America.  From  one  point  of  view  it  should  also  in- 
clude that  of  the  Isthmus  of  Panama  and  of  the  Antilles. 
The  tribes  of  the  Isthmus  seem  to  be  connected  cul- 
turally with  those  of  Colombia,  a  connection  which 
appears  especially  in  the  pottery  and  gold-work  of  the 
Chiriqui.  But  Antioquia  and  Chiriqui  are  separated 
by  forests  which  probably  at  no  time  sheltered  a  popu- 
lation of  any  numbers,  and  when  we  reach  the  Chiriqui 
Lagoon  we  come  in  contact  with  another  influence,  that 
of  the  Nahua  tribes  of  Mexico.  In  the  Antilles  are 
found  traces  of  an  early  population  who  seem  to  have 
been  a  branch  of  the  South  American  Arawak,  and  who 
were  exterminated,  as  far  as  the  Lesser  Antilles  are 
concerned,  by  later  Carib  immigrants,  also  coming  from 
South  America.  But  for  reasons  of  space  it  has  been 
considered  desirable  to  confine  attention  to  what  is  geo- 
graphically the  continent  of  South  America. 


CHAPTER  I— COLOMBIA 

THE  north-western  corner  of  the  South  American 
continent,  known  to-day  as  Colombia,  affords  a 
picture  of  great  geographical  diversity.  The  twin  chain 
of  the  Andes,  shortly  after  entering  Colombian  terri- 
tory from  Ecuador,  divides  Into  three  branches.  Of 
these,  the  eastern  branch  continues  for  some  distance 
unbroken,  but  later  splits  up  into  several  chains  which 
extend  through  Venezuelan  territory  to  the  sea.  The 
western  branch  runs  parallel  with  the  coast  until  It 
reaches  the  gulf  of  Darien ;  while  the  central  branch 
dies  away  In  the  marshy  plains  of  the  two  northern- 
most provinces  of  Colombia,  Bolivar  and  Magdalena. 
These  three  chains  or  Cordilleras  confine,  not,  as  through- 
out the  greater  part  of  Peru,  a  series  of  tablelands,  but 
two  deep  valleys  along  which  run  two  Important  rivers 
northwards,  to  the  west  the  Cauca,  to  the  east  the 
Magdalena.  The  courses  of  the  two  are  approximately 
parallel,  until,  after  the  disappearance  of  the  central 
Cordillera,  the  Cauca  joins  the  Magdalena,  which  is  the 
larger  of  the  two,  being.  Indeed,  the  fourth  longest 
river  In  South  America.  East  of  the  eastern  cordillera 
is  a  vast  series  of  plains  sloping  gradually  to  the 
Orinoco  and  Amazon. 

Corresponding  to  this  geographical  diversity,  Colom- 
bia possesses  an  equal  diversity  of  climate.  In  spite  of 
the  tropical  latitude  the  temperature  of  the  tablelands 
Is  extremely  pleasant  and  uniform  ;  in  the  valleys  and 
the  eastern  plains  the  heat  is  excessive,  with  a  mean  of  86 
or  88  Fahr.  ;  on  the  coasts,  the  temperature,  though 
lower,  is  still  very  high,  and  is  aggravated  by  the  damp- 

8 


COLOMBIA  9 

ness  attendant  on  a  tremendous  rainfall.  Amid  this 
variety  we  may  safely  seek  for  the  remains  of  such  cul- 
ture as  existed  among  the  early  inhabitants,  not  in  the 
torrid  regions  of  the  coast  and  eastern  plains,  where  the 
conditions  are  more  favourable  to  vegetable  than  human 
development,  but  on  the  elevated  slopes  and  tablelands 
of  the  Cordilleras. 

The  Spaniards  on  their  arrival  found  the  country 
peopled  by  a  large  number  of  tribes  differing  consider- 
ably in  language,  and  representing  various  stages  of 
cultural  development.  Of  the  vast  majority  of  these 
little  or  nothing  is  known  save  the  name  alone,  and  as 
no  systematic  attempt  has  yet  been  made  to  explore  the 
country  from  an  archaeological  point  of  view,  it  is  impos- 
sibleto  speakwithcertaintyas  to  the  inter-relation  of  the 
more  advanced  sections  of  the  population.  From  the 
scanty  materials  at  hand  in  museums  and  from  the  in- 
dications given  by  early  Spanish  writers,  four  culture 
centres  may  be  distinguished,  all  situated  on  the  higher 
ground  bordering  the  valleys  of  the  Cauca  and  Magda- 
lena  rivers.  The  first  and  most  northerly  of  these  lies 
in  Antioquia,  where  the  Tamahi  and  Nutabi  tribes  had 
developed  agriculture  and  attained  some  proficiency  in 
the  weaving  and  dyeing  of  cotton  ;  the  second  is  found 
to  the  south,  in  the  country  around  Cartago,  where  lived 
the  Quimbaya,  the  most  skilled  of  all  the  gold-working 
tribes  ;  the  third,  around  Popayan,  of  which  the  Coco- 
nuco  may  be  taken  as  the  representative  tribe  ;  and 
fourthly,  the  highland  region  on  either  side  of  the 
modern  provinces  of  Boyaca  and  Cundinamarca  to  the 
east  of  the  Magdalena,  where  the  Chibcha  or  Muisca 
people  had  attained  a  political  development  far  in  ad- 
vance of  the  rest  of  the  Colombians. 

Though  the  respective  cultures  of  these  tribesdiffered 
indetail,  yet  underlying  the  differences  was  a  very  strong 
similarity,  a  similarity  which  extended  also  to  the  cul- 
ture of  the  Peruvian  highlands.     In  fact,  when  due 


lo    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

allowance  is  made  for  the  difference  in  environment, 
we  may  take  it  that  the  more  advanced  Colombians 
afford  a  good  illustration  of  the  condition  of  the  various 
tribes  of  Peru  before  the  Inca  welded  them  into  a 
single  empire. 

Surrounding  the  peoples  of  higher  culture  were  many 
tribes,  some  possibly  as  advanced  as  they,  but  the 
majority  more  primitive,  some  even  in  the  lowest  stages 
of  savagery.  A  long  list  might  be  given  of  the  names 
of  these,  but  it  would  be  of  little  interest  to  the  general 
reader,  especially  as  it  would,  for  the  most  part,  be  un- 
accompanied by  any  details  concerning  their  manners 
and  customs  ;  it  will  be  better  to  concentrate  attention 
on  the  more  civilized  peoples  concerning  whom  most 
information  can  be  gathered  from  the  accounts  of  early 
historians  and  from  the  remains  in  musems. 

Little  can  be  said  of  the  respective  origins  of  the 
Colombian  tribes  ;  the  gold-work  of  the  Cauca  valley 
and  some  of  the  pottery  show  considerable  similarity  to 
thecorrespondingmanufacturesfromtheChiriqui  people 
of  the  Isthmus  (see  PI.  IV) ;  it  is  stated  also  that  a  langu- 
age akin  to  that  of  the  Chibcha  was  spoken  by  the  early 
inhabitants  of  the  high  ground  on  the  sea-coast,  east 
of  the  mouth  of  the  Magdalena  river  ;  but  the  Chib- 
cha, to  judge  from  their  traditions  as  recorded,  seem 
to  have  regarded  themselves  as  indigenous.  Certain 
tribes,  such  as  the  Quimbaya,  and  the  Muzo  and 
Colima,  western  neighbours  and  enemies  of  the  Chibcha, 
claimed  definitely  to  be  immigrants  from  the  north,^ 
and  it  is  said  that  a  certain  tribe  called  Achagua  settled 
near  Popayan  after  wandering  all  the  way  from  Venez- 
uela.    Further  evidence  of  the  westerly  and  southerly 

^  Further  evidence  of  this  is  contained  in  the  fact  that  two  hills, 
sacred  in  the  eyes  of  the  Chibcha,  were  situated  in  Muzo  territory  ; 
thither  the  Chibcha  would  make  secret  pilgrimages  by  night  to  perform 
certain  rites,  even  at  the  risk  of  being  killed  by  the  hostile  Muzo.  The 
explanation  would  seem  to  be  that  this  tract  of  country  belonged  origin- 
ally to  the  Chibcha,  but  was  seized  by  Muzo  invaders. 


COLOMBIA  II 

drift  of  tribes  is  contained  in  the  native  tradition,  pre- 
served by  Oliva,  that  the  early  inhabitants  of  South 
America  landed  first  at  Caracas  in  Venezuela  and  spread 
thence  along  the  coast  to  Ecuador.  All  that  can  be 
said  is  that  while  there  are  traditions  of  a  southerly 
and  south-westerly  movement  of  peoples,  there  is  no 
single  account  of  a  movement  in  the  reverse  direction  ; 
but  at  the  same  time,  to  speak  generally,  there  is  no 
definite  break  in  the  continuity  of  culture  between 
Colombia  and  Ecuador. 

Of  the  origin  of  the  world  and  themselves  the  Chib- 
cha  gave  the  following  account.  In  the  beginningall  was 
darkness,  until  a  Being,  named  Chiminigagua,  created 
light  and  anumberofgreat  birds  ;thesebirds,acting  under 
his  instructions,  seized  the  light  in  their  beaks  and 
distributed  it  over  the  earth.  Subsequently  Chimini- 
gagua created  the  sun  and  moon.  Like  many  creators 
in  primitive  mythology,  no  actual  worship  was  paid 
him,  his  work  was  done  and  he  was  not  regarded  as  a 
force  to  be  reckoned  with ;  but  the  sun  and  moon,  his 
handiwork,  were  the  centre  of  an  elaborate  cult.  Shortly 
after  this  a  woman  emerged  from  a  lake,  called  Iguaque, 
north-east  of  Tunja,  bearing  in  her  arms  an  infant  boy; 
this  woman,  called  variously  Bachue  and  Furachogue, 
came  down  to  the  plain,  where  she  lived  until  the  boy 
grew  up.  She  then  married  him  and  bore  innumerable 
children,  changing  her  abode  from  time  to  time  until 
the  land  was  peopled.  Finally  she  returned  to  the  lake 
with  her  husband,  and  the  pair  disappeared  beneath  the 
waters  in  the  form  of  snakes.  Bachue,  afterwards  wor- 
shipped as  one  of  the  gods,  is  believed  to  have  given  men 
their  first  laws  and  form  of  worship.  A  different  crea- 
tion legend  was  current  locally  at  Tunja.  Two  chiefs 
named  respectively  Iraca  and  Ramiriqui,  uncle  and 
nephew,  lived  in  the  primeval  darkness.  Feeling  lonely 
they  made  men  from  yellow  earth  and  women  from 
a  certain  plant;   Iraca  then  bade  Ramiriqui  ascend  to 


12    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

heav^en  and  become  the  sun,  while  he  himself  became 
the  moon.  It  is  possible  that  the  first  part  of  the  story 
may  have  been  introduced  from  the  Muzo,  who  main- 
tained the  tradition  that  a  ghost  or  shadow  named  Are 
formed  faces  of  sand  and  sprinkled  them  with  water, 
whereupon  they  became  men  and  women  ;  the  latter 
part  of  the  Tunja  myth  may  be  based  upon  local  pride, 
since  Ramiriqui  was  the  name  of  the  early  capital  of 
the  district  of  which  Tunja  became  the  later  centre,  and 
Iraca  was  the  site  of  one  of  the  holiest  temples  of  the 
Chibcha  country. 

The  next  feature  of  Chibcha  mythological  history  is 
one  common  to  all  the  cultured  peoples  of  Central  and 
South  America,  namely  the  arrival  of  a  white  culture- 
hero  who  gave  the  people  laws  and  instructed  them  in 
arts  and  industries.  Such  is  the  Quetzalcoatl  of  the 
Nahua,  the  Uiracocha  of  the  Peruvians,  and  the  Tsuma 
of  Venezuela.  This  personage,  known  variously  as  Bo- 
chica,  Nemterequeteba,  and  Xue,  is  said  to  have  come 
from  the  east  and  to  have  entered  the  territory  of  Bogota 
at  Pasca  on  its  southern  border,  and  finally  to  have  dis- 
appeared at  Sogamoso  or  at  Iza,  east  of  Tunja,  where 
his  footprint  was  shown  on  a  rock.  His  worship  was 
universal  in  Chibcha  territory  and  many  temples  were 
raised  to  him.  The  Tamahi  of  Antioquia  had  a  culture- 
heroine  named  Dabeciba.  The  preaching  of  Bochica 
enjoined  a  serious  mode  of  life,  and  his  laws  were  severe, 
but  it  is  related  that  shortly  after  his  disappearance  a 
woman  appeared,  none  knew  whence,  named  Huitaca 
or  Chie,  whoseteachingboreaverydifFerentcomplexion ; 
she  bade  the  people  rejoice  and  indulge  to  the  utmost 
in  dances  and  revelry,  but  her  rather  frivolous  turn  of 
mind  was  displeasing  to  the  creator,  who  is  said  on  this 
occasion  to  have  interfered  with  the  affairs  of  men  and 
to  have  turned  her  into  an  owl.  In  anger  at  this  treat- 
ment, Huitaca  is  related  to  have  aided  Chibchachum, 
the  special  god  of  the  Bogota  section  of  Chibcha,  to 


COLOMBIA  13 

cause  a  great  flood.  The  inhabitants  took  refuge  in 
the  mountains,  and  in  their  distress  called  upon  Bochica, 
who  appeared  in  the  rainbow  and,  with  a  golden  rod, 
opened  a  passage  for  the  waters  in  the  mountains. 
Bochica  further  punished  Chibchachum  by  compelling 
him  to  bear  the  earth.  Atlas-like,  upon  his  shoulders, 
but  the  god  often  grows  weary  and  shifts  his  burden 
from  one  shoulder  to  the  other,  causing  an  earthquake. 
A  deluge  myth  was  also  current  in  Antioquia  among 
the  Tamahi,  and  indeed  such  stories  are  found  all  over 
America. 

The  Chibcha  alone  of  the  Colombian  tribes  have  left 
a  history  ;  meagre  as  the  details  are,  they  are  never- 
theless of  great  interest  in  so  far  as  they  show  the  first 
steps  in  the  creation  of  what  might,  but  for  the  arrival 
of  the  Spaniards,  have  become  an  empire.  At  the  mo- 
ment of  the  conquest  there  were  five  centres  of  power 
in  the  Chibcha  country.  In  the  extreme  north  wasGua- 
nenta,  ruled  by  a  chiefof  that  title ;  to  the  south-east  was 
Tundama,  also  ruled  by  an  eponymous  chieftain ;  south 
of  Tundama  lay  Sogamoso,  the  smallest  principality, 
again  ruled  by  a  chief  who  took  his  title  from  his  terri- 
tory ;  south  and  west  was  the  important  district  of 
Tunja,  the  ruler  of  which  bore  the  title  of  Zaque  ;  and 
finally  in  the  extreme  south  lay  the  most  powerful  state, 
that  of  Bogota,  under  the  leadership  of  a  chief  entitled 
Zipa.  All  these  chieftains  were  emperors  on  a  small 
scale,  exercising  suzerainty  over  a  number  of  petty 
chiefs  who  were  supreme  in  their  own  districts,  and  suc- 
ceeded to  power  in  accordance  with  their  ancient  laws, 
but  whose  accession  required  ratification  at  the  hands  of 
their  respective  overlords.  But  the  country  was  not 
always  divided  after  this  fashion  ;  the  history  of  Chibcha 
territory  as  it  has  come  down  to  us  is  largely  the  story 
of  the  rise  of  the  formerly  insignificant  and  dependent 
chief  of  Bogota,  and  the  incorporation  in  his  sphere  of 
influence  of  several  independent  chiefs  and  their  re- 


14    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

spective  territories.  Iraca  and  Ramiriqui,  as  has  been 
seen  from  the  early  mythology,  seem  to  have  been  im- 
portant states  in  early  days  ;  indeed  the  earliest  Chibcha 
chief  known  to  historyis  Nompanem  of  Iraca,  who  codi- 
fied the  laws  of  Bochica  immediately  after  his  disap- 
pearance. As  Nompanem  had  no  male  heirs  he  was 
followed  by  his  sister  Bumanguay  and  her  husband, 
a  man  of  Firavitoba.  The  next,  or  a  later,  chief, 
named  Idacansas,  claimed  supernatural  power  over  the 
elements  and  diseases  ;  his  fame  waxed  great,  and  his 
kingdom  and  the  temple  of  Iraca  acquired  a  reputation 
for  holiness  and  attracted  many  pilgrims.  After  the 
death  of  Idacansas  a  rather  remarkable  event  occurred; 
it  is  possible  that  the  combination  of  civil  and  religious 
authority  acquired  by  him  appeared  dangerous  to  the 
surrounding  chiefs,  and  they  took  measures  to  prevent 
such  authority  from  falling  into  the  hands  of  a  man  who 
might  use  it  against  them.  Whatever  the  reason,  the 
fact  remains  that  the  normal  succession  was  interrupted, 
and  four  chiefs  were  appointed  hereditary  electors,  their 
choice  being  limited  to  the  inhabitants  (presumably  the 
ruling  families  or  prominent  men)  of  Firavitoba  and 
Tobaza  alternately.  So  carefully  was  the  rule  observed 
that  on  one  occasion  when  a  man  of  the  former  town 
usurped  the  power  out  of  turn,  the  electors  made  war 
upon  him  and  killed  him.  If  the  electors  were  unable  to 
agree  on  the  candidate,  the  chief  of  Tundama  was  called 
in  to  settle  the  question. 

Ramiriqui,  however,  soon  lost  its  important  position 
at  the  hands  of  a  chief  named  Garanchacha,  the  reputed 
son  of  the  Sun  and  a  daughter  of  the  chief  of  Guacheta 
in  the  south-west  of  the  Chibcha  country.  This  Garan- 
chacha killed  the  chief  of  Ramiriqui  in  revenge  for  the 
death  of  one  of  his  attendants,  and  usurped  his  kingdom, 
later  removing  the  seat  of  government  to  Tunja.  This 
legend  is  recounted  only  by  Simon,  who  says  that  Garan- 
chacha was  still  ruling  when  the  Spaniards  entered  the 


COLOMBIA  15 

country,  a  statement  which,  from  other  evidence,  is 
contrary  to  fact.  Elsewhere  we  hear  of  other  Zaque  of 
Tunja  :  Hunsahua,  who  married  his  sisterand  thus  inau- 
gurated a  custom  which  was  observed  by  his  successors, 
acustom  which  was  also  found  among  the  lnca;Toman- 
gata,  who  is  said  to  have  possessed  a  tail  and  four  ears, 
and  to  have  been  granted  power  by  the  Sun  to  change 
men  into  beasts  ;  Tutasua  his  nephew  ;  and  lastly 
Michuaand  Quemuenchatocha  mentioned  below  in  con- 
nection with  the  history  of  Bogota.  So  powerful  was 
the  Zaque  of  Tunja  that  it  has  been  said  that  at  one 
time  he  was  the  overlord  of  the  whole  of  the  Chibcha 
country  ;  this,  however,  does  not  seem  to  be  likely. 
Another  point  of  importance  was  Guatabita,  which, 
even  more  than  Iraca,  may  be  regarded  as  the  religious 
centre  of  the  whole  of  the  Chibcha  country  ;  here  were 
held  periodical  religious  ceremonies,  to  which  came 
pilgrims  from  all  the  Chibcha  tribes,  and  during  which 
all  hostilities  were  suspended.  I  n  early  times  Guatabita 
had  probably  been  an  independent  principality,  but  later 
it  seems  to  have  fallen  under  the  influence  of  Tunja, 
later  still  of  Bogota.  In  fact  the  whole  of  the  struggle 
between  the  Zaque  of  Tunja  and  the  Zipa  of  Bogota 
appears  to  have  resulted  from  the  determination  of  the 
latter  to  secure  control  of  Guatabita  and  Iraca,  which, 
from  a  religious  point  of  view,  were  the  two  most  im- 
portant villages  of  the  southern  Chibcha  country. 

The  exact  position  of  Bogota  at  the  time  of  its  rise 
towards  the  end  of  the  fifteenth  cen  ury  is  not  quite 
clear;  one  account  seems  to  make  its  ruler  the  vassal 
of  Guatabita,  the  other,  of  Tunja.  In  either  case  the 
inhabitants  were  well  qualified  to  make  a  bid  for  power  ; 
for  years  they  had  been  engaged  in  hostilities  with  the 
warlike  Panche  and  Muzo  to  the  west  and  north-west 
respectively,  and  they  had  thus  developed  into  better 
fighters  than  the  rest  of  the  Chibcha.  Their  ruler  at 
this   moment,   Saguanmachica,   was   a   bold   and  able 


i6    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

general,  as  ambitious  as  he  was  capable.  While  his  pre- 
decessors had  been  content  to  extend  their  power  slowly, 
absorbing  the  weaker  chiefs  on  their  borders,  he  boldly 
attacked  and  reduced  most  of  the  more  powerful  rulers 
of  the  southern  partofChibcha  territory.  Finally  Guata- 
bita  took  alarm  and  sent  a  force  against  the  Zipa,  but 
thelatter  prevailed  and  carried  the  war  into  the  territory 
of  Guatabita.  The  latter  then  appealed  to  the  Zaque  of 
Tunja,  Michua,  but  even  this  powerful  ruler  was  un- 
able to  lend  material  assistance.  According  toone  story 
the  Zipa  conquered  Guatabita  by  treacherously  break- 
ing the  truce  imposed  at  the  season  of  the  great  festival, 
but  however  this  may  be,  an  incursion  of  the  Panche, 
and  the  revolt  of  certain  lately-conquered  chiefs  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Bogota,  forced  Saguanmachica  to 
divide  his  forces,  and  for  the  moment  Guatabita  and  the 
Zaque  were  able  to  resume  the  offensive.  After  some 
years'  struggle  the  Zipa  was  again  free  to  resume  his 
attempt  on  Guatabita,  but  only  to  fall  in  a  pitched 
battle,  in  which  the  Zaque  Michua  also  lost  his  life. 
But  though  the  inaugurator  of  the  scheme  of  conquest 
was  dead,  the  Bogotans  found  a  worthy  successor  in 
Nemequene,  who  speedily  suppressed  all  attempts  at 
revolt  on  the  part  of  his  immediate  neighbours,  and 
compelled  the  Panche  to  keep  within  their  border. 
Finally  Guatabita  fell  to  him  by  a  stratagem.  The 
inhabitants  of  that  region  were  famed  for  their  gold- 
work,  and  their  services  were  in  request  in  many 
parts  of  Chibcha  territory.  To  prevent  serious  de- 
population the  ruler  had  made  a  regulation  that  every 
chief  who  obtained  a  goldsmith  from  his  country  must 
replace  him  by  two  of  his  own  men,  and  the  Zipa  took 
advantage  of  this  ordinance  to  fill  the  court  of  the  chief 
of  Guatabita  with  his  own  retainers.  He  made  a  forced 
march  upon  Guatabita ;  his  men  rose  to  his  assistance, 
and  the  territory  of  Guatabita  fell  into  his  hands,  the 
chief  and  all  his  relations  being  killed.     Following  up 


COLOMBIA  17 

his successNemequene next  proceeded  against  theZaque 
Quemuenchatocha  and  the  chief  of  Iraca ;  a  fierce  battle 
was  fought,  but  while  fortune  was  still  in  the  balance  he 
received  a  severe  wound  and  was  obliged  to  retire,  dying 
shortly  afterwards.  His  nephew  Tisquesusa,  however, 
resumed  the  campaign,  sending  an  army  against  Tunja 
under  the  command  of  an  able  general  named  Saque- 
saxigua,  but  the  arrival  of  the  Spanish  interrupted 
operations,  and  Tisquesusa  himself  fell  in  an  engage- 
ment with  the  white  invaders. 

Whether  the  rulers  of  Bogota  would  have  succeeded 
ultimately  in  extending  their  rule  over  the  whole  of 
the  Chibcha  it  is  difficult  to  say  ;  so  far  they  had  been 
hampered  by  continual  incursions  on  the  part  of  a  war- 
like and  unsubdued  foe  on  their  borders,  as  well  as  by 
the  continual  revolt  of  neighbouring  chiefs.  From  the 
former  danger  the  Inca  were  free,  from  the  latter  they 
suffered  much  in  the  early  days  of  conquest  ;  but  the 
Inca  possessed  one  advantage  which  the  Zipa  never 
had,  their  claim  to  divine  origin  ;  and  the  religious 
character  which  this  claim  gave  to  their  wars  of  con- 
quest, was  of  inestimable  value  to  them  in  dealing  with 
tribes  so  susceptible  to  supernatural  influences  as  the 
Andean  races  of  South  America.  It  is  possible  that 
the  possession  of  Guatabita  and  Iraca,  the  two  chief 
religious  centres,  might  have  given  the  Zipa  the  prestige 
they  lacked,  and  it  is  certain  that  the  conquest  of 
Tunja,  which  appeared  probable  as  matters  stood,  would 
have  increased  their  temporal  power  enormously. 
Whether  fate  would  have  granted  to  Bogota,  as  to  the 
Peruvians,  the  rulers  capable  of  consolidating  its 
power  remains  of  course  an  unsolved  question;  but  at 
least  the  first  steps  towards  empire  had  been  taken 
with  a  courage  and  determination  worthy  of  ultimate 
success. 

Politically  speaking,  the  Colombians  were  in  a  low 
stage  of  evolution.    With  the  exception  of  the  Chibcha 
c 


1 8    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

they  were  ruled  by  independent  petty  chiefs,  and  his- 
tory shows  that  even  the  Chibcha  had  not  advanced 
very  far  in  the  science  of  government.  The  Quimbaya, 
among  whom  the  arts  and  crafts  had  attained  a  higher 
level  than  among  the  Chibcha,  were  still  living,  it  is 
stated,  under  the  rule  of  sixty  petty  chieftains  at  the 
time  of  the  conquest  ;  these  chieftains  would  usually 
unite  under  the  leadership  of  one  of  their  number  in 
order  to  repel  a  common  foe,  but  they  were  perfectly 
ready  to  fight  among  themselves  when  peace  reigned 
along  their  borders. 

The  chiefs  of  the  Chibcha  were  all  absolute  mon- 
archs  ;  they  made  their  own  laws,  carried  on  the  civil 
government,  and  directed  warlike  operations,  as  far  as 
is  known,  with  entire  irresponsibility.  In  matters  of 
religion  too  they  exercised  considerable  control,  since 
the  appointment  of  the  priests  lay  in  their  hands  ;  in 
fact,  no  small  portion  of  their  power  was  derived  from 
the  semi-divine  state  with  which  they  encircled  them- 
selves. No  subject  dared  look  his  ruler  in  the  face, 
but  when  in  his  presence  turned  aside  or  assumed  a 
stooping  attitude  ;  no  messenger  might  appear  before 
him  without  bearing  in  his  hand  some  gift  as  a  cere- 
monial acknowledgment  of  his  high  rank.  Regulations 
somewhat  similar  were  observed  in  the  Inca  court. 
The  Zipa  of  Bogota,  perhaps  for  the  very  reason  that 
he  was  a  parvenu  among  the  overlords,  maintained  a 
state  which  in  a  small  way  resembled  that  of  the  divine 
rulers  of  Peru  ;  his  garments  were  of  the  finest  cotton, 
his  throne  was  of  gold  studded  with  emeralds,  and  he 
travelled  in  a  litter  hung  with  golden  plates,  preceded 
by  officials  who  removed  all  obstacles,  spread  textiles 
and  scattered  flowers  in  his  path.  His  head-dress  was 
of  gold  and  a  golden  crescent  ornamented  his  brow  ; 
nose-and  ear-ornaments  were  of  the  same  metal,andalso 
the  breastplate  he  bore  upon  his  chest  (PI.  IV).  Though 
the  power  of  a  chief  was  absolute  in  his  territory,  and 


COLOMBIA  19 

no  detail  was  beneath  his  cognizance,^  it  is  probable 
that  no  ruler  would  have  ventured  directly  to  contra- 
vene the  traditional  customary  laws  handed  down  from 
the  legendary  legislators,  though  he  might  modify  these 
or  make  new  ordinances. 

All  the  great  chiefs,  of  Bogota,  Tunja,  Guatabita, 
Iraca,  and  elsewhere,  possessed  pleasure  palaces,  like 
those  of  the  Inca,  a  little  removed  from  their  respective 
capitals,  whither  they  retired  to  refresh  themselves  after 
the  cares  of  State,  to  bathe  in  hot  or  cold  springs,  and  to 
enjoy  the  society  of  their  numerous  wives. 

But  if  the  position  of  a  chief  in  power  might  be  re- 
garded as  enviable,  he  was  forced  to  undergo  a  very 
severe  probation  before  he  could  enter  upon  a  life  of 
despotic  ease.  Office  was  hereditary  in  the  female  line, 
that  is  to  say,  a  chief  was  succeeded  normally  by  his 
sister's  son,  his  own  sons  receiving  only  a  portion  of  his 
personal  property.  In  default  of  nephews  on  the 
sister's  side,  the  power  devolved  upon  the  brother 
next  in  age  ;  if  there  were  no  heir,  an  independent 
chief  would  designate  his  successor  before  his  death, 
but  in  the  case  of  a  dependent  chief,  the  successor  was 
chosen  by  the  overlord.  In  any  case  the  succession 
of  a  dependent  had  to  be  ratified  by  his  superior.  In 
the  territory  of  Bogota  the  chieftainship  of  Chia,  due 
north  of  Bogota,  was  always  conferred  upon  the  heir 
of  the  Zipa,  just  as  the  title  "Prince  of  Wales"  is 
borne  by  the  heir  to  the  British  throne.  The  origin 
of  this  practice  is  explained  in  the  following  legend. 
The  brother  of  an  early  chief  of  Chia  had  an  intrigue 
with  one  of  the  royal  women  ;  his  guilt  was  discovered 
and  he  was  sentenced  to  impalement,  a  fate  which  he 
escaped  by  flight.  He  took  refuge  at  the  court  of  the 
Zipa  and  eventually  became  a  successful  general  in 

^  It  is  said  that  if  a  subject  of  the  Guatabita  wished  to  wear  a  dress 
of  a  pattern  different  from  that  which  was  customary,  he  was  obliged 
to  obtain  his  lord's  approval  and  receive  the  new  garment  from  his  hands. 


20     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

his  service.  As  the  Zipa  had  no  heirs,  he  designated 
the  warrior  as  his  successor,  and  at  his  death  the 
former  fugitive  became  lord  of  Bogota  and  overlord 
of  his  brother  who  had  condemned  him.  The  brother 
in  fear  sent  his  mother  and  sister  to  intercede,  and  it 
was  finally  arranged  that  the  son  of  the  sister  should 
be  heir  to  the  chiefdom  of  Chia,  and  subsequently 
to  that  of  Bogota.  From  that  time  the  chief  of  Chia 
has  always  succeeded  to  the  throne  of  Bogota.  As 
said  above,  the  heir  to  a  chiefdom  was  obliged  to 
submit  to  a  severe  probation.  For  five  years  or  more 
he  was  secluded  in  a  temple,  whence  he  issued  only  by 
night;  he  mortified  the  flesh  with  frequent  scourgings 
and  fasts,  and  abstained  from  meat,  salt,  and  aji  (red 
pepper,  a  very  favourite  condiment) ;  he  was  bound  by 
oath  to  confess  any  breach  of  the  stringent  regulations 
with  which  his  life  was  hedged,  and  severe  penances 
were  imposed  on  him.  At  the  end  of  this  trying  period 
his  nose  and  ears  were  pierced  for  the  ornaments  which 
his  rank  entitled  him  to  bear,  and  he  made  an  offering 
of  golden  figures  of  animals  to  the  gods. 

The  ceremonies  attending  the  installation  of  a  chief 
were  conducted  with  great  state ;  and  in  this  connection 
special  allusion  must  be  made  to  the  rites  performed 
when  the  chief  of  Guatabita  ascended  to  power.  Not 
only  was  the  ceremonial  particularly  elaborate,  but  it 
gave  rise  to  the  stories  of  el  Dorado  which  so  fired  the 
imagination  of  the  early  conquerors  and  gave  such  im- 
petus to  the  exploration  of  the  interior.  According  to 
Fresle  the  population  of  the  neighbourhood  repaired 
to  the  sacred  lake  of  Guatabita  clad  in  their  finest  orna- 
ments of  gold  and  feathers.  Innumerable  sacrificial  fires 
were  kindled  on  the  banks,  and  the  lake  was  encircled 
with  a  cloud  of  incense.  The  ruler-elect  was  divested 
of  his  garments,  anointed  with  an  adhesive  earth,  and 
powdered  with  gold-dust.  Attended  by  his  four  prin- 
cipal sub-chiefs  he  embarked  upon  a  reed  raft  orna- 


COLOMBIA  21 

merited  with  gold  and  furnished  with  four  braziers  for 
incense  ;  at  his  feet  was  piled  a  mound  of  gold  and 
emeralds,  and  amidst  the  shouts  of  the  multitude,  and 
the  sound  of  whistles  (PL  IV,  6)  and  other  instruments, 
he  proceeded  to  the  middle  of  the  lake.  There  he 
plunged  into  the  waters  and  washed  off  the  offering  of 
gold-dust,  and  the  gold  and  emeralds  were  thrown  in  at 
the  same  time,  the  four  chiefs  making  offerings  on  their 
own  account.  The  raft  then  returned  and  the  proceed- 
ings terminated  with  the  revelry  and  c/iicha-dnnk'ing  so 
dear  to  the  heart  of  the  Colombians. 

Tribute  in  gold  and  textiles  was  exacted  by  the  chiefs 
from  their  subjects,  and  the  method  of  dealing  with 
defaulters  was  decidedly  original ;  when  a  man  failed  to 
send  his  due  contribution,  a  court  attendant  together 
with  a  bear  or  puma  was  quartered  upon  him,  and  he 
was  further  forced  to  give  a  cloth  garment  for  each  day 
that  he  was  in  arrears;  it  is  probable  that  he  made 
great  efforts  to  rid  himself  of  such  undesirable  "men  in 
possession."  In  some  places  less  severe  measures  were 
taken,  the  defaulter's  fire  was  extinguished  and  he  was 
not  permitted  to  rekindle  it  until  the  debt  was  paid. 
The  customary  law,  which  was  preserved  by  oral  tra- 
dition, was  on  the  whole  severe  ;  in  Guatabita  the  pun- 
ishment for  most  crimes  was  death;  the  code  of  Nom- 
panem  imposed  the  capital  penalty  in  cases  of  homicide, 
but  lesser  crimes  were  punished  with  flogging  the  first 
time,  infamy  the  second,  and  infamy  extending  to  the 
relations  of  the  culprit  the  third.  Cowards  were  com- 
pelled to  assume  female  dress  and  perform  the  work 
of  women.  Women  suspected  of  infidelity  were  usually 
forced  to  eat  red  pepper  until  they  confessed  the 
name  of  their  lover,  after  which  their  agony  was  alle- 
viated with  a  draught  of  water  and  they  were  killed, 
unless  they  were  ransomed  by  the  man  named.  Theft 
was  punished  with  stripes  on  the  first  two  occasions,  but 
on  the  third  the  offender  was  compelled  to  look  the  chief 


22     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

in  the  face,  a  proceeding  which  branded  him  with  per- 
petual infamy.  The  mutilation  of  hands,  noses  and 
ears  was  also  practised  occasionally  as  a  punishment. 
In  the  case  of  offenders  of  higher  rank  the  punishments 
were  lighter,  and  consisted  in  tearing  the  garments  or 
cutting  the  hair,  but  the  disgrace  attending  the  penalty 
was  greater  in  proportion  to  the  rank  of  the  culprit. 

As  may  be  gathered,  high  rank  and  purity  of  blood 
were  held  in  great  estimation,  and  a  wide  gulf  sepa- 
rated the  nobles  from  the  commoners  ;  the  upper  classes 
possessed  many  privileges,  mostly  connected  with  the 
wearing  of  certain  ornaments,  which  they  held  in  virtue 
of  their  station;  others,  such  as  the  right  to  be  carried 
in  a  litter,  could  only  be  granted  by  one  of  the  great 
chiefs. 

Slavery  existed  as  an  institution,  at  least  among  the 
Quimbaya  and  Chibcha,  but,  as  among  most  primitive 
peoples,  the  slaves  appear  to  have  been  well  treated. 
Among  the  Chibcha  the  slaves  seem  to  have  been  native- 
born  prisoners  of  war,  the  subjects  of  some  hostile  chief 
captured  in  fight.  As  a  rule,  at  any  rate  in  the  Bogota 
region,  men  so  taken  were  sent  to  fight  the  national 
enemy,  the  Panche  and  Colima,  serving  as  archers. 

A  plurality  of  wives  appears  to  have  been  permitted 
throughout  Colombia,  but  the  "table  of  prohibited  de- 
grees "  varied  from  one  locality  to  another.  In  the 
neighbourhood  of  Cartago  a  man's  first  cousin  seems 
to  have  been  regarded  as  his  natural  mate,  but  in  the 
Zipa's  territory  no  marriages  were  permitted  within  the 
second  degree  of  consanguinity.  In  the  Tunja  district, 
however,  even  marriage  with  a  sister  was  not  forbidden. 
The  Panche  were  the  most  particular  of  all,  since  the 
man  was  compelled  to  seek  a  wife  outside  his  sub-tribe. 
The  intending  husband  was  obliged  by  custom  to  hand 
over  a  price  to  his  prospective  father-in-law,  and  the 
bride  brought  no  dowry  save  her  ornaments  and  a  quan- 
tity of  chicha. 


COLOMBIA  23 

The  Chibcha  wife  seems  to  have  enjoyed  rather  un- 
usual privileges  ;  on  the  authority  of  Jimenez  de  Que- 
sada,  Piedrahita  relates  that  she  was  permitted  to  beat 
her  husband,  though  the  number  of  lashes  she  could  in- 
flict was  limited  to  six.  The  chief  wife,  moreover,  that 
is  to  say  the  first  married,  had  even  greater  power.  If 
she  so  willed  she  might  on  her  death-bed  condemn  her 
husband  to  chastity  for  a  certain  period,  even  up  to  five 
years.  Children,  except,  apparently,  among  the  Quim- 
baya,  wereregarded  as  belonging  to  the  mother's  family; 
this  fact  is  seen  in  the  custom  by  which  a  man  inherited 
from  his  maternal  uncle  (except  in  the  case  of  sons  of 
free  men  and  slave  women),  and  also  in  the  ordin- 
ance which  compelled  a  man,  who  lost  a  wife  and  child 
at  birth,  to  pay  one-half  of  his  property  as  compensa- 
tion to  the  woman's  relatives.  When  a  child  was  born 
a  ceremony  was  often  performed  which  was  supposed 
to  give  an  indication  of  the  fortune  which  might  pur- 
sue him  throughout  life.  A  tuft  of  cotton,  moistened 
with  the  mother's  milk,  was  wrapped  in  grass  and 
thrown  into  a  stream;  six  chosen  swimmers  immediately 
plunged  into  the  water  and  tried  to  seize  it  before  the 
bundle  became  unrolled.  If  they  were  successful,  the 
omen  was  good,  and  the  parents  rejoiced  in  the  cer- 
tainty that  the  infant  would  be  lucky.  Twins  were 
regarded  as  a  proof  of  inconstancy  and  were  killed. 

The  various  peoples  of  Colombia  appear  to  have  had 
but  little  intercourse  with  their  respective  neighbours, 
and  that  chiefly  of  a  warlike  nature  ;  our  knowledge 
of  friendly  relations  between  tribes  is  confined  mainly 
to  the  facts  that  the  Quimbaya  obtained  gold  from  their 
neighbours  in  exchange  for  salt,  and  that  the  southern 
Chibcha  procured  the  same  metal  from  tribes  on  the 
Magdalena,  below  Neiva,  in  barter  for  salt,  textiles,  and 
emeralds.  Within  the  borders  of  their  own  territory, 
however,  the  Chibcha  at  least  were  energetic  traders  ; 
periodical  markets  were  established  at  many  of  the 


24    SOUTH  AMERICAN  A RCHi^OLOGY 

larger  villages,  and  even  a  kind  of  currency  was  in 
vogue.  The  existence  of  this  currency,  the  only  thing 
of  the  kind  in  South  America,  is  attested  by  several  of 
the  early  chroniclers.  It  consisted  of  gold  discs,  of 
which  the  value  was  estimated  by  measuring  against  the 
first  joint  of  the  thumb  ;  besides  being  employed  in 
commerce  it  was  also  used  by  the  chiefs  subordinate  to 
the  Zipa  and  Zaque  in  the  payment  of  their  tribute. 

Even  the  military  operations  of  the  more  civilized 
peoples  seem  to  have  been  confined  within  their  own 
borders.  Certainly  the  Quimbaya  at  one  period  under- 
took a  war  of  conquest  when  they  exterminated  the 
aborigines  of  the  country  where  they  were  found  by  the 
Spaniards  ;  but  in  historical  times  they  had  sadly  de- 
generated, and  confined  their  energies  to  guarding 
against  the  attacks  of  their  fiercer  and  more  savage 
neighbours,  always  avoiding  a  combat  when  possible. 
The  Chibcha,  too,  were  content  to  keep  at  bay  the 
Panche  and  Colima  on  their  south-western  and  south- 
ern border,  and,  so  far  as  can  be  gathered,  never  at- 
tempted reprisals,  nor  even  made  an  effort  to  recon- 
quer the  territory  from  which  they  had  been  driven  by 
the  Muzo.  But  the  continual  strife  with  the  Panche 
had  the  effect  of  inuring  the  southern  tribes  to  war 
and  was  the  cause  of  the  rise  of  Bogota;  it  had,  more- 
over, a  more  surprising  effect  in  producing  the  only 
democratic  institution  in  this  land  where  hereditary 
rank  counted  for  so  much.  Upon  men  who  showed 
unusual  bravery  in  war  was  conferred  the  title  of 
Guecha,  and  certain  privileged  ornaments.  The  Guecha 
wore  his  hair  short  and  bore  in  his  lips  and  ears  a 
number  of  gold  rods,  said  to  correspond  with  the 
number  of  foes  slain  by  him  in  fight,  as  well  as  the  nose- 
ornament  which  was  in  other  cases  the  sign  of  high  birth. 
To  such  proved  warriors  was  entrusted  the  guardian- 
ship of  the  villages  on  the  Panche  frontier.  War 
was   declared    formally  by    messengers    sent    to    the 


COLOMBIA  25 

enemy,  who  were  entertained  unharmed  by  the  latter 
as  long  as  hostilities  lasted.  Certain  religious  cere- 
monies were  performed,  including  the  sacrifice  of  a 
child  to  the  Sun  and  Moon  ;  and  the  petty  chiefs  of 
most  distinguished  lineage,  who  bore  the  military  title 
of  Usaque,  summoned  their  retainers.  The  fighting- 
men  grouped  themselves  round  their  feudal  lords, 
whose  tents  were  dyed  each  some  distinguishing  colour, 
and  many  women  followed  in  the  train  with  a 
generous  supply  of  chicha  for  the  thirsty  warriors.  An 
army  in  the  field  afforded  a  fine  spectacle.  The  nobles 
glittered  with  gold  :  gold  forehead-ornaments  in  the 
shape  of  crescents,  gold  nose-  and  ear- ornaments, 
gold  collars,  gold  bracelets,  gold  breast-plates  (PI. 
IV)  and  shields,  and  over  all  a  feather  crest  set  in  gold 
and  emeralds.  The  rank  and  file,  though  less  richly 
clad,  made  a  brave  show  adorned  in  the  many-hued 
feathers  of  tropical  birds.  They  were  armed  with  spears 
of  palmwood  with  the  points  hardened  in  the  fire,  with 
long  and  heavy  two-handed  swords  of  hard  wood,  with 
slings  and  spear-throwers.  The  last-mentioned  appli- 
ance is  found  widely  distributed  throughout  America, 
and  again  in  Australia,  and  consists  of  a  rod  with  a  hook 
at  the  end  which  fits  into  a  socket  in  the  butt  of  the 
javelin,^  by  this  means  the  arm  of  the  thrower  is  arti- 
ficially lengthened  and  he  is  enabled  to  hurl  his  weapon 
with  far  greater  force  than  with  the  unaided  hand. 
This  appliance  was  also  used  in  Peru  (see  Fig.  8). 
Some  of  the  fighters  carried  bows,  but  this  weapon  was 
not  used  nearly  to  the  same  extent  as  by  the  wild  forest 
tribes  to  the  east,  who,  again  unlike  the  Chibcha,  were 
accustomed  to  anoint  their  arrows  with  poison.  The 
battle-array  of  the  Quimbaya  was  similar,  though 
in  this  district  a  chief  was  always  to  be  distinguished 

^  In  parts  of  America,  though  not  in  the  Andes,  the  end  of  the  spear- 
thrower  is  furnished  with  a  socket  in  which  the  spear-butt  rests  instead 
of  the  hook  mentioned  above. 


26    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

by  a  hemispherical  casque  of  gold  bearing  designs  in 
relief  (PI.  V.  i).  Among  the  Chibcha,  as  among  certain 
Peruvian  tribes,  the  mummies  of  famous  warriors  were 
carried  into  battle  in  the  hope  that  the  spirit  of  the  brave 
departed  might  animate  their  compatriots.  Head-hunt- 
ing was  practised  to  some  extent  in  Colombia,  especially 
by  the  less  civilized  tribes,such  as  those  of  the  Cartagena 
coast,  the  Muzo,  the  Colima,  and  the  Panche ;  and  even 
the  Chibcha  decorated  their  sanctuaries  with  the  heads 
of  Panche  enemies. 

In  the  arts  of  pleasure  the  Colombians  were  more  ex- 
pert than  in  war,  but  they  were  much  addicted  to  drunk- 
enness ;  large  stores  of  the  intoxicating  chicha  figured 
prominently  on  all  occasions  of  rejoicing  and  religious 
ceremonial,  and  thecarousals,especiallyamongtheQuim- 
baya,  frequently  ended  in  a  fight.  A  more  strenuous 
form  of  amusement  consisted  of  the  foot-races  so  dear 
to  the  heart  of  the  Chibcha,  in  which  the  winner  received 
a  prize  of  textiles  and  was  accorded  the  privilege  ofwear- 
inghisgarmentsoastotouch  the  ground,  while  theLache 
people  tothe  north-eastof  theChibcha  indulged  in  gene- 
ral melees  in  which  fists  were  the  only  weapons.  Feasts 
and  games  were  a  great  feature  of  religious  worship,  and 
this  subject  requires  a  short  consideration. 


CHAPTER  II— COLOMBIA  {continued) 

VERY  little  is  known  of  the  religion  of  the  Quim- 
baya  ;  it  is  stated  that  they  had  no  idols  nor  tem- 
ples, and  practised  no  cult  of  animals  nor  plants.  Men- 
tion is  made  of  a  creator,  Abira,  an  evil  deity,  Cani- 
cuba,  and  a  culture-heroine,  Dabeciba, in  Antioquia,  but 
nothing  is  related  of  the  worship  paid  to  them.  About 
the  Chibcha  more  information  exists  ;  at  the  head  of  the 
pantheon  stood  the  creator,  Chiminigagua,  and  the  cul- 
ture-hero and  god  of  chiefs,  Bochica.  Bachue,  men- 
tioned before,  was  the  patron  of  agriculture;  Chaquen, 
of  races  and  boundaries ;  Nencatacoa,  the  bear-shaped 
god,  of  t/^^V/^<?-drinking,  weaving  and  dyeing ;  and  Chib- 
chachum,  the  peculiar  god  of  the  Bogotans,  of  com- 
merce. It  is  more  than  probable  that  definite  gods  of 
this  nature  were  only  found  among  the  more  highly- 
organized  Chibcha,  and  that  elsewhere  prevailed  the 
cult  of  natural  features,  the  heavenly  bodies,  mountains, 
rocks,  lakes,  and  streams.  Such  seems  to  have  been  the 
primitive  religion  of  all  the  Andean  tribes,  surviving 
among  the  Chibcha  and  also  locally  among  the  Peru- 
vians, and  based  on  the  desire  to  propitiate  the  hidden 
powers  of  nature,  or  on  the  idea  that  the  object  of  the 
cult  was  in  some  way  connected  with  the  ancestry  of  the 
worshippers.  The  Sun,  Sua,  and  the  Moon,  Chia,  were 
important  deities  among  the  Chibcha  and  the  more 
primitive  tribes  on  their  south-eastern  border,  and  the 
Moon  was  also  worshipped  by  the  Panche  on  the  west. 
The  cult  of  water  was  very  important  in  the  Chibcha 
country,  and  this  is  not  surprising,  since  the  inhabitants 

27 


28     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

were  agriculturists  and  droughts  were  not  uncommon. 
There  were  five  sacred  lakes,  of  which  the  most  impor- 
tant was  that  of  Guatabita.  Mountains  also  were  con- 
sidered sacred,  and  offerings  were  deposited  on  them, 
but  chiefly  because  of  their  association  with  some  god, 
principally  the  Sun.  A  snake-cult  was  found  among  two 
tribes  to  thewestofChibcha  territory,and  traces  of  simi- 
lar worship  were  found  also  among  the  Chibcha  them- 
selves, in  so  far  as  a  large  snake  was  supposed  to  issue 
from  the  lake  of  Guatabita  and  receive  the  offerings  of 
gold  and  emeralds  placed  on  its  banks.  Two  tribes  con- 
terminous with  the  snake-worshippers  paid  reverence 
to  two  stones  said  once  to  have  been  men,  and  stone 
worship  was  found  among  the  neighbouring  Lache,  who 
believed,  moreover,  that  the  dead  became  stones,  and 
were  later  reincarnated.  A  similar  idea  is  seen  at  the 
root  of  the  legend  of  the  former  chief  of  Tunja  who 
married  his  sister  and,  with  her,  was  subsequently  turned 
to  stone. 

It  is  only  of  the  cults  practised  by  theChibcha  that  any 
detailed  accounts  have  come  down  to  us,  and  most  of 
these  relate  to  the  worship  of  the  Sun.  To  Bochica  and 
the  Rainbow  offerings  were  made  of  gold  and  emeralds ; 
to  Chibchachum,  of  gold  ;  Bachue  received  certain  agri- 
cultural produce,  and  Nencatacoa  libations  of  chicha  ; 
to  Chaquen  were  dedicated  the  feather  ornaments  worn 
by  the  competitors  in  races  and  by  the  warriors  in  war. 
The  Sun  was  more  exacting.  Besides  offerings  of  gold, 
emeralds  and  incense,^  of  which  the  two  former  were 
often  buried  on  mountains,  human  sacrifices  were  made 
to  him.  Not  far  from  Bogota,  to  the  south-east,  was  a 
temple  to  the  Sun,  in  which  was  reared  a  large  number  of 
children,  purchased  in  infancy  by  traders  in  distant  pro- 
vinces.    These  children  were  regarded  with  the  utmost 

1  The  invading  Spaniards  were  received  at  first  with  offerings  of  fire 
and  incense,  since,  as  in  Peru,  they  were  thought  to  be  the  children  of 
the  Sun. 


PLATE  J I 


Hnlish  Museum 

COLOMBIA 

1.  Stone  Pendant  :  Chibcha      6,  8.  Tottkry  Stamps:  N.E.  Cauca 

2.  Copper  Fish  :  Santander  7.  Stone  Plate  :  An'J'ioquia 
3.4,5.  Pottery  spindle-whorls:           9.  Pottery  Vase:  Bogota 

N.E.  Cauca  and  Tolima      10. 11.  Pottery  Vase:  Antioquia 
(Scale:   1-8,  1/4111  :  9-1 1,  i/8tii) 


COLOMBIA  29 

veneration,  and  acted  as  mediators  between  penitents 
and  theoffended  deity  ;  they  were  not  permitted  to  touch 
the  ground  with  their  feet,  and  their  chief  occupation 
was  as  singers  in  the  temple.  At  the  age  of  puberty 
they  were  sold  to  chiefs  for  sacrifice  ;  the  victim's  blood 
and  heart  being  offered  to  the  Sun  amidst  music  and 
song  somewhat  after  the  fashion  of  the  Nahua  people 
of  Central  America.  If  one  of  these  iVloja,  as  they  were 
called,  were  found  to  be  guilty  of  unchastity,  he  escaped 
the  fate  destined  for  him,  but  lost  his  sacred  character, 
and  was  thenceforward  regarded  as  an  ordinary  indi- 
vidual. Children  were  also  sacrificed  in  time  of  war  or 
drought.  In  the  latter  case  the  victim  was  taken  on  a 
fine  day  to  the  summit  of  a  mountain  and  beheaded  with 
a  cane  knife,  his  blood  being  smeared  on  the  rocks  where 
the  first  rays  of  the  sun  would  fall ;  the  body  was  some- 
times hidden  in  a  cave,  and  sometimes  left  on  the  moun- 
tain for  the  sun  to  "  devour."  Another  common  form 
of  human  sacrifice  was  the  following  :  a  slave  was  con- 
ducted  in  procession  to  a  lofty  pole  supporting  a  small 
platform  which  stood  in  the  corner  of  the  chief's  en- 
closure ;  on  this  he  was  set,  and  arrows  and  darts  were 
hurled  at  him  until  he  died  of  his  wounds  ;  meanwhile 
priests  collected  in  bowls  the  blood  which  constituted 
the  offering  ;  the  body  was  buried  on  a  hill-top.  In 
some  cases  parrots,  brought  from  the  hot  plains  and 
trained  to  talk,  were  substituted  for  human  victims,  as 
many  as  two  hundred  being  offered  at  a  time.  The 
practice  of  human  sacrifice  was  not  confined  to  the  Chib- 
cha  country  ;  in  Tolima  the  custom  was  also  found,  and 
in  certain  features  the  ceremony  closely  resembled  that 
of  the  Aztecs  in  so  faras  the  victim  was  himself  supposed 
to  be  the  god.  Prisoners  of  war  were  sacrificed  in 
Antioquia  and  by  the  Quimbaya.  Of  other  celestial 
phenomena  theRainbowwas  personified  underthe  name 
of  Cuchabiba ;  it  was  regarded  as  the  protector  of  women 
in  childbirth  and  of  the  fever-stricken, and  offerings  of 


30    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

emeralds  were  made  to  it.  Its  appearance,  however, 
was  supposed  to  portend  death. 

Closely  connected  with  the  cult  of  the  Sun  was  the  cult 
of  idols,  at  any  rate  in  the  Chibcha  territory.  These  idols 
were  made  of  various  materials — wood,  clay,  cotton, 
wax,  copper,  and  even  gold.  One  of  the  most  celebrated 
of  those  in  the  precious  metal  was  a  solid  image  of  the 
son  of  Bachue  in  a  temple  at  Iguaque.  There  were  many 
idols  in  a  single  temple,  and  offerings  were  made  to  them 
through  the  priests,  in  the  hope  that  they  might  inter- 
cede with  the  Sun  and  Moon  to  grant  the  prayer  of  the 
petitioner.  Offerings  consisted  of  textiles,  emeralds,  and 
gold  figures  of  men,  beasts,  birds,  reptiles,  and  insects, 
as  well  as  tiaras  and  other  ornaments  also  of  gold  ;  and 
were  deposited  in  vases  shaped  like  a  human  figure  (PI. 
II,  Fig.  9),  sunk  in  the  ground  up  to  the  neck,  and  fur- 
nished with  a  cover  of  clay  or  feathers.  When  the  vase 
was  full  it  was  removed  and  buried  with  its  contents  in 
a  secret  place.  Besides  the  temple  idols,  which  were 
usually  arranged  in  pairs,  male  and  female,  were  the  pri- 
vate idols,  approximating  more  in  character  to  fetishes, 
which  individuals  kept  in  their  huts  and  carried  with 
them  in  small  baskets.  These  served  a  variety  of  pur- 
poses, such  as  to  guard  the  possessor  against  sickness 
and  the  like.  Idols  of  wood,  pottery,  and  gold  were  also 
found  in  Antioquia,  Southern  Cauca,  and  among  the 
Sutagao,  neighbours  of  the  Chibcha  on  the  south  ;  but 
it  is  said  that  neither  the  Quimbaya  nor  the  inhabitants 
of  Tolima  made  use  of  them.  If  this  statement  is  true 
the  two  small  figures  shown  on  PI.  Ill,  Figs. 6  and  7,  one 
of  which  still  retains  the  gold  nose-ring  which  usually 
adorns  these  figurines,  must  be  of  a  votive  character. 

A  few  words  must  be  said  about  the  cult  of  the  sacred 
lakes  in  the  Chibcha  country.  Connected  with  this  cult 
was  the  ceremony  of  investiture  of  the  chief  of  Guata- 
bita,  which  has  been  described  above,  but  more  impor- 
tant from  the  national  point  of  view  were  the  ceremonial 


COLOMBIA  31 

pilgrimages  which  were  made  periodically  to  the  chief 
lakes  of  the  country.  The  lake  of  Guatabita  was  thus 
honoured  by  the  northern  Chibcha,  while  the  lake  of 
Ubaque,  south  of  Bogota,  was  rendered  similar  homage 
by  the  southern  tribes.  During  the  period  of  the  pil- 
grimage hostilities  were  suspended,  and  the  assembled 
tribes  held  foot-races  and  indulged  in  prolonged  drink- 
ing-bouts. With  such  zeal  were  these  amusements  pur- 
sued that  deaths  from  exhaustion  or  over-drinking  were 
not  unknown,  and  the  victims  were  buried  in  holy  caves 
on  the  spot  and  honoured  as  martyrs  to  religion.  In 
conclusion  was  celebrated  a  great  sacrifice  to  the  lake. 
At  Guatabita  the  populace  thronged  the  holy  shores, 
which  twinkled  with  the  flames  of  their  incense-fires  ; 
long  cords  were  stretched  from  bank  to  bank,  and  to  the 
sound  of  drums  and  whistles  the  offerings  were  made. 
Chiefs  and  nobles  cast  their  gold  and  ornaments  into  the 
lake,  but  the  commoners  buried  their  contributions  on 
the  shores, standing  with  their  backs  turned  towards  the 
holy  waters.  Some  of  these  offerings  have  been  dis- 
covered; one  lucky  explorer  securinggold  to  the  amount 
of  no  less  than  12,000  pesos. ^  On  the  banks  of  Ubaque 
pottery  figures  have  been  disinterred,  their  faces  turned 
away  from  the  lake,  probably  the  offerings  of  the  poorer 
class.  Apart  from  the  sanctity  which  seems  to  have  at- 
tached to  large  sheets  of  water,  Guatabita  seems  to  have 
possessed  additional  holiness  from  the  fact  that  its  waters 
were  supposed  to  be  inhabited  by  the  wife  of  a  former 
Zaque  of  Tunja,  of  whom  a  legend  was  told. 

An  important  ceremony  took  place  in  Bogota  on  the 
occasion  of  the  harvest,  which  occurred  in  September. 
The  people  in  all  their  finery,  accompanied  by  the  priests 
wearing  golden  tiaras,  assembled  in  the  broad  street  lead- 
ing to  the  chief's  house  ;  many  were  clad  in  the  skins  of 
wild  beasts,  a  custom  which  is  also  found  in  Peru.  Prayers 
were  made  to  the  Sun  and  to  Bochica,  and  an  appeal  was 

^  The  value  of  the^r/o  de  oro  is  about  J^z  12s.  6cl. 


32    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCH/EOLOGY 

made  to  their  pity  by  the  use  of  masks  on  which  were 
painted  tears.  The  priests  were  followed  in  procession 
by  a  troop  of  worshippers  manifesting  every  sign  of  joy 
and  announcing  that  the  Sun  had  granted  their  supplica- 
tions ;  next  came  a  number  of  men  wearing  gold  masks, 
spreading  textiles  before  a  richly  adorned  band  of  musi- 
cians who  escorted  the  Zipa  and  his  dependent  chiefs. 
At  the  end  of  the  street  offerings  were  made  to  idols, 
and  the  proceedings  terminated  in  dancing  and  chicha- 
drinking.  At  Tunja  a  ceremony  was  performed  in 
memory  of  the  two  mythical  chiefs  who  became  respec- 
tively the  Sun  and  Moon.  This  took  place  at  the  end  of 
the  year,  when  twelve  men  clad  in  red  formed  a  circle 
round  a  thirteenth  in  blue  and  sang  songs  mainly  con- 
cerned with  death.  The  performers  were  considered  to 
represent  respectively  the  months  and  the  sun.  An  in- 
teresting piece  of  symbolism  was  manifested  in  some  of 
the  drinking-bouts  which  occurred  after  sacrifices  ;  two 
men  sat  at  the  gate  of  the  enclosure  where  the  revelries 
were  taking  place  and  played  mournful  airs  on  flutes. 
These  men,  who  neither  ate  nor  drank  during  the  pro- 
ceedings, were  supposed  to  represent  death. 

The  ceremonial  which  the  Chibcha  religion  had  deve- 
loped required  the  services  of  a  priesthood.  The  priest- 
hood was  hereditary  in  the  female  line,  but  the  chiefs 
seem  to  have  had  some  control  over  the  disposal  of  the 
more  important  offices.  After  a  period  of  twelve  years' 
probation,  during  which  the  candidate  received  both  re- 
ligious and  medical  instruction,  and  practised  various 
austerities  in  the  seclusion  of  an  isolated  hut,  he  was  in- 
ducted into  his  office,  his  ears  and  nose  were  pierced,  and 
he  was  allowed  to  assume  ornaments  of  gold.  The  life  of 
apriest  involved  much  self-denial ;  he  lived  abstemiously 
and  in  celibacy,  performed  many  penances,  and  slept  but 
little,  spending  the  greater  part  of  the  night  in  chewing 
coca.  His  position  in  general  was  that  of  intercessor  be- 
tween man  and  the  supernatural  powers ;  for  instance,  in 


ri.AJK  /// 


Hrilish  Mli 

(  ()L(;.mi;lv 

1,2,5-7,9-14.  I'oTiKkv:  Caica  \'ai.i.i.v,  Antioi.h-ia 

3.  Vasic  :   TOI.IMA 

4.  VASF,  :    (irAIAHll  A 

5.  Fic.CKK  :   li.xuviA 

(Scale:    I-S,  1/6111;  9-12,  l/SlH) 


COLOMBIA  33 

time  of  drought  a  number  of  priests,  after  fasting,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  top  of  a  mountain  and  there  burnt  various 
offerings,  including  hair  soaked  in  resin,  scattering  the 
ashes  to  the  winds.  In  times  of  sickness,  the  invalid, after 
fasting,  brought  some  offering,  such  as  a  gold  figure 
wrapped  in  cotton,  to  the  priest,  who  had  meanwhile  pre- 
pared himself  also  by  a  fast.  The  latter  would  then  divest 
himself  of  his  clothing,  declaim  the  circumstances  of  the 
illness  in  a  loud  voice,  and  cast  the  offering  into  a  lake, 
deposit  it  in  a  cave,  or  bury  it  in  the  earth.  Next  morn- 
ing he  announced  the  divine  will  to  the  suppliant.  Such 
were  the  offices  of  the  regular  priesthood,  in  the  ranks  of 
which  there  was  no  hierarchy,  all  being,  at  least  nomi- 
nally, equal.  But  there  existed  in  addition  a  number  of 
itinerant  diviners,  whose  methods  included  some  such 
proceeding  as  the  following.  If  a  man  lost  an  object  of 
value  he  would  call  in  the  services  of  a  diviner ;  the  latter 
would  trace  in  the  dust  ten  lines  radiating  from  the  spot 
where  he  stood,  and  associate  each  of  these  with  one  of 
his  fingers.  After  taking  an  intoxicating  drug  he  awaited 
the  twitching  of  one  of  his  fingers,  by  which  he  was 
supposed  to  discover  the  direction  in  which  the  robber 
might  be  found.  The  popular  magic  was  extremely 
varied;  omens  were  taken  from  dreams,  the  cries  of  foxes 
and  owls,  and  the  twitching  of  various  parts  of  the  body ; 
and  no  one  would  undertake  a  project  of  importance 
without  ensuring  success  by  the  consumption  of  certain 
herbs.  The  Quimbaya  possessed  prophetic  priests  who 
interpreted  the  supernatural  will  from  the  observation 
of  natural  phenomena,  and  similar  diviners  were  found 
among  the  Colima  and  Muzo.  In  the  plains  south-east 
of  the  Chibcha,  candidates  for  the  priesthood  were  edu- 
cated for  their  future  profession  in  the  temples. 

The  Chibcha  temples  were  ordinary  huts,  such  as  are 
described  later,  furnished  with  small  stools  on  which 
were  set  the  idols  ;  the  floor  was  usually  covered  with 
grass  and  the  walls  with  mats.     In  the  case  of  the  im- 

D 


34    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

portant  temples,such  as  that  of  lraca,the  main  posts  were 
planted  each  on  the  body  of  a  living  slave.  The  houses 
of  chiefs  were  similarly  "established  in  blood."  Each 
temple  was  dedicated  to  some  particular  god,  and  small 
shrines  were  scattered  over  the  country,  on  the  hills,  on 
the  shores  of  lakes,  and  by  the  roadside. 

The  Chibcha  believed  that  the  souls  of  the  dead  tra- 
velled to  another  land  in  the  centre  of  the  earth,  crossing 
a  river  in  a  boat  made  of  spider's  web,  for  which  reason 
spiders  were  never  killed.  There  they  entered  upon 
another  life,  similar  to  that  in  this  world,  but  the 
position  they  occupied  depended  to  some  extent  upon 
the  death  by  which  they  had  perished.  Men  who  had 
fallen  in  battle,  and  women  who  had  died  in  childbirth, 
were  supposed  to  be  particularly  fortunate  in  the  other 
world.  When  a  chief  came  to  power  the  priests  pre- 
pared him  a  grave  in  a  secret  place,  in  a  wood,  on  a  hill, 
or  in  the  bed  of  a  stream  ;  at  his  death  his  body  was  em- 
balmed with  resin,  and  a  public  mourning  was  accorded 
him,  at  which  his  various  exploits  were  recounted,  a 
practice  which  obtained  also  in  Peru.  The  priests  then 
buried  him  in  secret,  placing  with  the  body  bags  of  coca 
and  maize  and  jars  of  chicha.  In  the  grave,  or  in  the 
earth  above,  as  at  Tunja,  they  placed  much  gold  and 
jewels, and  over  his  body  theyburied  his  favourite  wives 
and  slaves  so  that  they  might  serve  him  in  the  other 
world.  The  ruler  of  Bogota  was  buried  seated  on  a  gold- 
plated  stool,  and  the  Zaque  of  Tunja  was  enfolded  in 
many  wrappings  and  placed  on  a  couch  in  the  temple, 
jewels  and  gold  having  been  placed  in  his  body  at  the 
embalming.  In  the  palace  at  Tunja  the  Spaniards  found 
an  urn  of  gold,  set  with  emeralds  and  weighing  thirty 
libras^  which  contained  the  bones  of  a  former  chief.  Caves, 
as  in  Peru,  were  often  used  as  mausolea,  and  the  mum- 
mies of  chiefs  have  been  found  in  them  surrounded  by 

^  437^  oz.  troy,  the  value  of  the  gold,  if  pure,  being  about  ^ijoo, 
exclusive  of  that  of  the  jewels. 


COLOMBIA  35 

the  bodies  of  their  retainers.  Like  the  Chibcha,  the 
Quimbaya  buried  maize  with  the  dead  and,  in  the  case 
of  a  man  of  importance,  deposited  his  favourite  wives 
and  slaves  in  the  earth  above  his  body.  But  the  latter 
was  usually  burnt  and  the  ashes  placed  in  an  urn  of 
gold  or  clay.  The  graves  too  were  much  more  elabor- 
ate and  of  considerable  variety.  They  consisted  in  the 
main  of  one  or  more  vaults,  lined  with  stone  slabs  or 
plastered  with  clay  ornamented  with  painted  and  en- 
graved designs,  and  access  was  gained  to  them  by  a 
vertical  or  inclined  shaft,  sometimes  furnished  with 
stairs.  The  body  was  laid  from  east  to  west,  the  grave 
filled  in  with  earth  of  a  different  colour  from  that  of  the 
locality,  and  a  mound,  the  proportions  of  which  corre- 
sponded with  the  importance  of  the  deceased,  reared 
above  it.  The  graves  were  grouped  in  regular  ceme- 
teries, connected  by  roads,  on  the  upper  slopes  of  the 
Cordillera,  and  individuals  of  the  same  class  were  buried 
together.  The  practice  of  mummification  was  known 
also,  it  is  said,  to  the  Panche  tribes. 

The  practice  of  moulding  the  heads  of  infants  in  ac- 
cordance with  certain  preconceived  ideals  of  beauty,  a 
custom  which  was  common  among  other  Andean  races, 
was  found  also  in  Colombia.  Among  the  tribes  which 
practised  it  were  those  of  the  Cauca  valley  and  the  pro- 
vince of  Tolima.  The  usual  method  practised  by  the 
Quimbaya  was  to  apply  two  boards,  by  means  of  which 
the  forehead  and  the  back  of  the  child's  head  were  flat- 
tened, and  a  corresponding  bulge  on  either  side  of  the 
skull  was  produced.  The  square  heads  of  the  clay  fig- 
urines from  the  neighbourhood  of  Cartago  and  Mani- 
zales  (PI.  Ill,  Figs.  6  and  7)  give  some  idea  of  the  shape 
which  the  process  was  designed  to  produce.  Occasion- 
ally pressure  was  applied  at  the  sides  so  that  the  head 
became  elongated  in  a  backward  direction,  but  this  was 
less  common.  The  right  of  wearing  nose-  and  ear-or- 
naments, especially  in  the  Chibcha  country,  was  only 


36    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

allowed  to  men  of  the  highest  rank,  the  chiefs,  Usaque, 
Guecha,  and  priests ;  and,  as  in  Peru,  the  piercing  of  the 
ears  was  a  jealously  guarded  privilege.  Such  ornaments 
were  invariably  of  gold,  in  the  shape  of  rings  or  plates 
(Fig.  I ,  Cyeandf)  for  the  nose,and  rings, plates,  cylinders 
and  spirals  (Fig.  i,  d)  of  thick  wire  for  the  ears.  The 
ornaments  of  greatest  variety  and  perfection  of  work- 
manship were  found  among  the  Quimbaya,  including 


Fig.  I. — Colombia — a,  Stone  die  for  gold  reliefs  ;  d,  gold  figure,  Chibcha  ; 
(",  e,/,  gold  nose-ornaments;  d,  gold  ear-ornament. 

necklaces  of  gold,  stone  and  quartz  beads,  pendants  of 
various  materials,  some  in  the  form  of  animals  (PI.  II,  i) 
or  small  rattles  and  circlets  for  the  arm  and  leg.  Other  or- 
naments have  been  mentioned  in  the  course  of  the  pre- 
ceding pages.  Among  most  of  the  Colombians,  clothing 
was  reduced  to  a  minimum  ;  in  fact  the  Chibcha  alone 
wore  anything  worthy  of  the  name.  Men  wore  a  short 
cotton  skirt  and  a  shoulder-cloth  knotted  on  each 
shoulder,  women  a  long  skirt  and  a  shoulder-cloth 
fastened  with  a  pin  of  gold  or  copper.  In  general  the 
garments  of  the  ordinary  man  were  white,  those  of  the 
nobles  were  ornamented  with  red  or  black  designs,  but 


COLOMBIA  37 

the  women  of  the  north-eastern  boundary  tribes  wore 
clothes  woven  of  variously  coloured  cotton.  The  hair 
was  worn  long,  but  was  usually  concealed  by  the  head- 
dress, a  narrow  fillet  of  cotton,  a  net,  or  a  cloth  or  skin 
cap  with  a  high  crown  and  sometimes  with  ear-flaps, 
as  seen  in  Peru.  The  rank  of  an  individual  was  indi- 
cated by  the  pattern  of  his  head-covering.  Men  plucked 
out  their  scanty  beards  with  small  tweezers  of  gold. 
Neither  shoes  nor  sandals  were  worn.  The  rest  of  the 
tribes  were  content  with  a  girdle  and  their  ornaments, 
but  the  Quimbaya  chiefs  wore  cotton  garments  orna- 
mented with  gold  plate.  Painting  the  body  was  a  re- 
cognized method  of  increasing  beauty,  at  feasts  and  in 
war,  and  for  this  purpose  stamps  or  cylinders  of  pottery 
with  geometrical  designs  in  high  relief  (PL  II,  Figs.  6  and 
8)  were  frequently  employed  by  the  Chibcha  and  Quim- 
baya. These  appliances  were  also  used  in  the  decora- 
tion of  textiles. 

The  dwellings  of  the  Colombians  were  constructed  of 
canes  supported  by  wooden  posts,  the  walls,  in  the  Chib- 
cha country,  being  sometimes  plastered  with  clay;  the 
roofs  were  of  thatch,  and  the  more  important  buildings 
were  usually  enclosed  in  one  or  more  palisades,  the  doors 
and  windows  were  small.  Though  constructed  of  primi- 
tive materials,  the  huts  of  the  Quimbaya  and  Chibcha 
were  often  large  enough  to  be  imposing,  and  contained 
several  apartments.  The  walls  of  the  Zipa's  palace  were 
ornamented  with  reed-grass,  interwoven  with  thread  of 
different  colours,  and  a  broad  corridor  encircled  the 
building,  sheltered  by  an  awning  of  coarse  cotton  cloth. 
The  palisade-doors  of  the  chiefs  of  Tunja  and  Sogamo- 
so  were  hung  with  plates  of  gold,  which  gleamed  in  the 
sun  and  clashed  melodiously  when  the  wind  blew.  It 
is  stated  that  the  value  of  the  gold  from  the  door  of  the 
Sogamoso  palace  amounted  to  eighty  thousand  ducados.' 
The  Quimbaya  huts  contained  separate  rooms  for  the 

^  The  value  of  the  ducado  is  nearly  j[^2. 


38    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHi^OLOGY 

men  and  women,  and  were  invariably  constructed  on  the 
banks  of  a  stream. 

Stone  implements  were  used  by  the  Colombians  for 
various  agricultural  and  other  purposes,  and  polished 
axe-  or  adze-blades  are  often  found.  They  are  usually 
more  or  less  trapezoid  and  regular  in  outline,  but  some 
are  grooved  at  the  butt  to  facilitate  attachment  to  a  haft. 

Though  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest  the  only 
people  who  used  stone  for  structural  purposes  were  the 
Quimbaya  (who  lined  their  graves  with  stone  slabs),  yet 
remains  of  stone-working  are  not  absent  in  the  Chibcha 
area.  Not  far  from  Tunja,  in  a  north-westerly  direction, 
are  a  number  of  well-dressed  stone  columns,  measuring 
seven  to  eight  feet  in  length.  When  first  discovered,  many 
were  still  standing  ;  others  again  had  fallen.  Most  of 
them  were  cylindrical  or  elliptical  in  shape,  and  a  few 
were  faceted.  In  some  cases  one  end  was  encircled  by 
a  groove,  possibly  for  the  attachment  of  the  cords  by 
which  they  were  dragged  into  position  ;  in  other  cases 
the  masons  had  not  yet  completed  the  task  of  shaping 
them.  Their  purpose  is  still  a  mystery,  unless  indeed 
it  can  be  explained  by  the  story  related  by  Simon.  He 
says  that  the  ZaqueGaranchacha,who,according  to  him, 
ruled  from  the  time  of  Bochica  to  the  Spanish  conquest, 
projected  building  a  stone  temple  to  the  Sun,  his  father, 
and  for  that  purpose  had  a  large  number  of  rough 
columns  brought  to  Tunja  secretly  and  by  night  ;  but 
the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards  interrupted  his  plans.  Un- 
fortunately the  later  inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring 
villages  have  used  this  site  as  a  quarry,  and  many  of  the 
columns  have  disappeared. 

But  the  most  extraordinary  ruins  of  this  region  are 
found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  a  small  village  called 
San  Agustin,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  upper  Magda- 
lena,  just  outside  the  boundary  of  Chibcha  territory. 
Here,  at  some  time  unknown,  was  built  a  series  of 
small  chambers,  the  walls  composed  of  large  slabs  of 


COLOMBIA  39 

stone,  roofed  with  a  slab  of  still  greater  proportions. 
Pillars,  sculptured  with  the  figures  of  men  or  gods, 
stood  at  the  entrances,  and  carved  slabs  formed  part  of 
the  interior  decoration.  The  figures  are  armed  with 
clubs,and  above  their  heads  the  conventionalized  repre- 
sentation of  some  animal,  probably  a  puma,  is  shown. 
But  the  most  striking  feature,  according  to  the  accounts 
of  travellers,  is  constituted  by  the  large  tusks  which 
are  shown  projecting  from  their  mouths.  This  charac- 
teristic, which  is  also  seen  on  the  early  pottery  of  the 
Peruvian  coast,  we  shall  meet  again,  when  we  come  to 
consider  the  early  stone  remains  of  Peru.  Sculptured 
slabs,  again,  are  found  on  the  Ecuadorian  coast.  There 
seems  little  in  common  between  these  remains  and  the 
Chibcha  civilization,  and  it  is  probable  that  they  date 
from  an  earlier  period.  It  is  in  the  highest  degree  de- 
sirable that  the  site  should  be  properly  investigated, 
since  there  is  every  reason  to  believe  that  additional 
light  would  thereby  be  thrown  on  the  earliest  remains 
of  the  Ecuadorian  and  Peruvian  coasts  and  the  pre-Inca 
culture  of  the  Peruvian  highlands. 

The  Colombian  tribes  lived  by  hunting  and  agricul- 
ture ;  they  possessed  no  domestic  animals  and  no  beasts 
of  burden,  since  the  range  of  the  llama,  the  only  animal 
in  South  America  which  was  ever  put  to  such  a  use,  did 
not  extend  so  far  north.  Of  the  agriculturists  the  Chib- 
cha were  the  most  adept ;  game  was  not  plentiful  in  the 
high  ground,  and  was  carefully  protected  by  the  chiefs. 
The  chief  produce  was  maize  and  potatoes,  the  former 
of  which  yielded  two  hundred  to  three  hundred-fold 
and  the  latter  twenty  to  thirty-fold.  In  the  valleys, 
yuca,  sweet  potato,  cotton  and  leguminous  plants  were 
grown.  The  ground  was  prepared  with  wooden  spades 
or  digging-sticks,  hardened  in  the  fire  ;  but  irrigation 
was  probably  not  practised  before  the  conquest,  though 
droughts  were  not  infrequent.  The  Chibcha  harvest 
took  place  in  September  ;  but  the  Panche,  who  inha- 


40    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

bited  a  far  moister  district,  gathered  their  crops  three 
times  in  the  year.  TheQuimbaya  were  hunters  rather 
than  husbandmen,  though  among  them  also  maize  was 
the  principal  food.  Coca  and  tobacco  were  much  prized 
throughout  the  country,  and  the  latter  was  both  used  as 
snufFand  smoked  in  stone  pipes.  The  coca-leaves  were 
carefully  dried  in  pots  over  the  fire  and  reserved  for 
chewing.  Maize  was  prepared  for  eating  in  various  ways, 
principally  by  grinding  on  stones  ;  the  meal  was  then 
wrapped  in  leaves  and  boiled  or  roasted.  Salt  was  a  valu- 
able article  of  trade  and  was  exported  from  those  dis- 
tricts, such  as  Cartago,  where  salt-springs  existed.  It  was 
obtained  by  evaporation  in  large  vessels  constructed, 
among  the  Quimbaya,  of  copper,  among  the  Chibcha, 
of  pottery.  In  the  latter  case  the  pots  could  be  used  but 
once,  since  they  had  to  be  broken  to  extract  the  salt. 
Cannibalism  was  practised  by  many  of  the  more  savage 
tribes  of  Colombia,  particularly  in  the  north  of  the  pro- 
vince of  Antioquia  and  the  northern  part  of  the  Cauca 
valley,  though  it  was  less  prevalent  in  the  south.  Even 
the  comparatively  civilized  Quimbaya  were  not  inno- 
cent of  the  custom,  although  theyonlypartookof  human 
flesh  ceremonially. 

Of  the  various  industries  practised  in  Colombia  most 
interesting  is  the  working  of  gold,  owing  both  to  the 
great  quantities  of  gold  ornaments  which  have  been,  and 
are  still,  found  throughout  the  country,  and  to  the  abil- 
ity which  certain  of  the  tribes,  notably  the  Quimbaya, 
showed  in  the  treatment  of  the  metal.  Most  of  the  tribes 
except  those  on  the  lowest  plane  of  culture  worked  gold 
to  some  extent,  but  the  principal  centres  of  manufacture 
were  the  Cauca  valley,  Antioquia,  and  the  Chibcha  dis- 
trict, named  in  order  according  to  the  quality  of  their 
respective  products.  Neither  the  Quimbaya  nor  the 
Chibcha  obtained  the  raw  metal  locally,  but  were  sup- 
plied by  their  neighbours  ;  both,  however,  were  adepts  in 
casting  and  soldering.  TheQuimbaya  seem  to  have  per- 


COLOMBIA  41 

formed  the  former  operation  by  the  cire  perdue  process ;  a 
model  of  the  required  object  was  made  in  wax  on  a  core 
of  clay,  and  over  this  more  clay  was  plastered  to  form  a 
mould ;  the  mould  was  then  baked,  the  wax  run  out 
through  a  holeleft  forthe  purpose,  and  the  molten  metal 
poured  in.  The  core  and  mould  were  kept  apart  by  small 
pieces  of  wood  set  in  the  wax,  and  the  holes  which  ap- 
peared in  the  finished  cast  were  carefully  concealed  by 
small  plates  soldered  on.  The  mask  on  Plate  IV,  5,  has 
been  cast  on  a  pottery  core,  of  which  traces  remain  in 
the  nose.  The  gold  figures  of  the  Chibcha,  which  were 
far  inferior  to  the  work  of  the  Quimbaya, consist  appar- 
ently of  plates  of  metal  cut  to  the  desired  outline,  with 
the  edges  and  details  emphasized  by  gold  wire  soldered 
to  the  surface  (Fig,  i,  b).  It  is  improbable  that  the  cire 
perdue  process  was  extensively  employed  by  this  people, 
if  indeed  at  all ;  but  it  is  evident  that  some  of  the  figures 
belonging  to  this  type  were  produced  by  a  process  of  cast- 
ing. In  some  cases  the  metal  background  is  incomplete, 
and  the  "  wire  "  details  project  unsupported.  Here  a 
model,  probably  of  copper,  must  have  been  prepared,  by 
soldering  wire  on  a  plate,  and  a  mould  taken  from  this ; 
small  irregularities  show  where  the  mould  crumbled  when 
removedfromthemodel,amishap  which  the"  undercut" 
detailsformedof  roundwire  rendered  inevitable.  Where 
the  platewasthin  the  molten  metal  mightwellfailtomake 
its  way  between  the  walls  of  the  mould,  but  would  run 
readily  along  the  broader  channels  formed  by  the  wire. 
Gold  was  also  worked  by  hammering,  and  designs  ob- 
tained by  beating  outthe  metal  on  stonescarved  in  relief 
with  the  design  required.  Such  stones  (Fig.  i,rt)  have 
often  been  found  in  theChibcha  country,and  at  first  gave 
rise  to  the  supposition  that  a  system  of  hieroglyphic 
writingexisted  in  Colombia,  a  supposition  which  is  entire- 
ly without  foundation.  Gold  was  alloyed  with  silver  and 
copper,  the  formergiving  a  greenish,  the  latter  a  reddish 
tinge  to  the  finished  article ;  sometimes  both  were  used. 


42    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

with  the  result  that  a  pale  yellow  was  obtained.  The 
fine  surface  on  some  of  the  Quimbaya  objects  was  prob- 
ably obtained  by  polishing  with  stone  burnishers.  The 
graceful  shapes  of  the  Quimbaya  vessels  and  whistles 
(Plate  IV,  4  and  6)  bear  ample  evidence  to  the  skill  of 
their  goldsmiths,  who  were  also  capable  of  producing 
minute  beads,  of  which  thirty-five  go  to  the  gramme. 
Some  of  the  figures  found  are  of  a  base  alloy  with  a  sur- 
face of  pure  gold,  and  from  this  it  would  appear  that  the 
art  of  gilding  was  known. 

The  best  emerald  mines  were  situated  in  the  territory 
of  the  hostile  Muzo,  but  others  existed  at  Somondoco, 
which  were  worked  by  the  Chibcha.  The  earth  was  dug 
out  with  pointed  stakes  and  washed  with  pond  water. 
Mining  took  place  in  the  rainy  season,  and  was  preceded 
by  religious  ceremonies. 

In  the  making  of  pottery  the  Chibcha  were  surpassed 
by  the  Quimbaya  and  the  other  Antioquians,  the  ware 
of  the  two  latter  being  superiorboth  indesign  and  finish. 
A  considerable  amount  of  Colombian  pottery  exists  in 
various  museums,  but  no  systematic  study  has  been 
made  of  it,  and  the  number  of  specimens  which  are  ac- 
companied by  exact  details  as  to  the  locality  where  they 
were  found  is  comparatively  small.  At  the  same  time  it 
is  possible  to  assign  certain  types  to  certain  definite 
areas.  Two  kinds  of  clay  appear  to  have  been  used 
generally,one  reddishincolour,the  other  a  greyish  buff; 
ware  of  a  dark  grey  is  sometimes  found  locally,  especi- 
ally in  the  neighbourhoods  of  Manizales  and  Anzerma. 
In  the  Quimbaya  and  Antioquian  pottery  the  clay  is 
better  worked  and  more  homogeneous ;  it  is  to  a  large  ex- 
tent micaceous,  and  a  small  percentage  of  sand  seems  to 
have  been  added.  TheColombianpotterbuiltuphisvases 
solely  by  hand,  for  the  use  of  the  wheel  was  entirely 
unknown  to  him ;  the  larger  vases  appear  to  have  been 
made  in  several  pieces,  which  were  allowed  to  harden 
before  they  were  put  together.  After  firing,  which  was 


PLATE  J  I' 


r.iitish  Museum 

COLOMBIA  AND  ECUADOR 

I.   Cni.I)  KKrOUSSK  MASK:   KCUADOK    5.   (ini.D    MASK  :    (^)[1I  I\l  KAYA 
,3.    Cdl.D    PENDANTS  6.    (ioi.D    WHISIIK:    (^)IMMKAVA 

4.    Col, 11    VASK  :    OUIMHAYA  J.    Cdi.I  )  TiKEAS  T- I'l  A  I  K  :  <  M:  I  M  HA  VA 

(Scale  :  aljoul   1/4'iH) 


COLOMBIA 


43 


done  in  the  open  air,  the  pots  were  decorated  with  a 
coloured  slip,  red,  black,  or  buff;  usually  a  single 
colour  was  employed,  but  vases  with  painted  designs 
in  two  or  more  colours  are  by  no  means  uncommon, 
especially  from  Manizales  and  the  neighbourhood 
(PL  III,  Figs.  9,  1 1  and  1 3).  Painted  patterns  are  purely 
geometrical,  and  not  of  high  artistic  merit.  Engraved 
ornament  is  far  more  common,  and  in  this  case  again 
the  deeply  incised,  bold  decoration  characteristic  of  the 
buff  and  grey  ware  of  the  last-mentioneddistrict  (Pl.III, 


Fig.  2. 


-Colombian  Pottery — a,  Anzerma  ;  b,  Neiva  ;  c,  Tunja  ; 
d-g,  Popayan. 


Fig.  3)  is  superior  to  the  more  minute  and  less  effective 
patterns  of  the  red  Chibcha  ware  (Fig.  2,f).  Many  of  the 
vases  from  all  parts  are  in  the  form  of  human  figures,  or 
are  furnished  with  a  human  head  or  features  in  relief 
(Pis.  II  and  III).  Such  specimens  show  the  Colombian 
artist  at  his  worst ;  a  naturalistic  treatment  of  the  human 
form  seems  to  have  been  beyond  his  powers,  and  some 
of  the  faces  are  so  conventionalized  as  to  be  barely 
recognizable. 

Characteristic  of  the  Bogota  region  are  the  figures 
in  buff  ware  covered  with  a  cream-coloured  slip  (PI. 
Ill,  Fig.  8),  and  the  large  vases  in  human  form,  greyish 
buff  in  colour,  which  were  used  as  receptacles  for  the 
offerings  to  the  gods  (PI.  II,  Fig.  9)  ;  while  figures  with 


44    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

exaggerated  legs  (such  as  PL  III,  Fig.  1 4)  are  generally  to 
beattributed  to  Manizalesand  the  surrounding  country. 
Small  moulded  ornaments,  other  than  the  features  of 
the  human  form,  applied  after  the  formation  of  the  body 
of  a  vase,  are  rare,  and  consist  chiefly  of  figures  of  frogs 
(Fig.  2,a3.ndc).  Characteristic  again  of  the  Cauca-Anti- 
oquia  boundary  are  graceful  vases  and  shallow  bowls  of 
grey  ware  with  carefully  moulded  bodies  (PI.  Ill, Fig.  2), 
but  stemmed  vessels  are  not  usually  found  so  far  north. 
Such  shapes  are  far  more  common  in  the  Popayan  dis- 
trict, where  vases  with  pointed  bases  are  also  found 
(Fig.  2,  t^-g).  This  pottery,  which  is  almost  always  red, 
relies  far  more  on  the  beauty  of  its  outline  for  artistic 
effect  than  on  applied  or  engraved  ornament.  Vases 
with  pointed  bases  are  not  unknown  further  north,  but 
were  usually  large  in  size  and  used  for  cooking. 

The  spinning  and  weaving  of  cotton  were  practised  by 
many  of  the  Colombian  tribes,  and  the  engraved  spindle- 
whorls  of  pottery  are  common  in  museums  (PI.  II, 
2,-s)y  ^s  well  as  the  pottery  stamps  with  which  dyed 
patterns  were  applied  to  the  textiles  (PL  II,  Figs.  6  and 
8).  The  latter  were  also  employed  for  ornamenting  the 
body. 

Such  was  thestate  ofculture  which  prevailed  in  Colom- 
bia when  the  Spaniards  arrived  ;  at  one  end  of  the  scale 
naked  and  savage  cannibals  ;  at  the  other,  a  people  with 
a  feudal  form  of  government,  whose  political  system 
was  not  decadent  but  progressive,  who  possessed  indeed 
no  form  of  writing,  or  any  substitute  for  such  (as  the 
quipu  of  Peru),  but  who  had  a  system  of  measures  and 
a  calendar,  and  who  had  made  considerable  progress 
in  craftsmanship. 

A  few  words  may  be  said  here  about  Venezuela,  though 
this  country  has  been  so  little  investigated  from  an  ar- 
chaeological point  of  view  that  no  connected  picture  can 
be  given  of  it.  At  the  same  time  the  northern  portion  of 
it  is,  geographically,  a  continuation  of  Colombia,  and 


COLOMBIA  45 

certain  of  the  remains  suggest  a  relationship  with  the 
Colombian  tribes.  Geographically  Venezuela  can  be 
divided  into  three  distinct  zones  :  in  the  north  is  a  strip 
of  agricultural  land  ;  south  of  this,a  zone  of  steppe  afford- 
ing good  pasturage  ;  and  south  of  this  again  are  plains 
covered  with  thick  forest.  The  high  ground  was  in- 
habited by  a  number  of  distinct  tribes,  the  very  names 
of  whom  are  doubtful,  but  who  offered  the  most  deter- 
mined resistance  to  the  Spaniards,  a  resistance  which 
resulted  in  their  ultimate  extinction.  They  were  ruled 
by  petty  chiefs,  who  exercised  a  patriarchal  authority, 
and  were  quite  independent  one  of  the  other  until  they 
combinedagainsttheir  common  foe,  the  white  man.  They 
lived  in  small  hutswith  low  doors, wore  very  little  cloth- 
ing, and  gained  their  livelihood  by  agriculture  and  the 
chase.  Maize  and  the  sweet  potato  were  the  principal 
food-plants,  the  former  being  ground  in  stone  mortars 
with  large  stone  pestles,  some  of  which  are  too  heavy  for 
a  single  person  to  manipulate.  Like  the  Colombians, 
they  worshipped  the  powers  of  nature,  as  personified  in 
certain  mountains,  trees  and  animals,  and  made  their 
offerings  in  special  huts,  or  deposited  them  on  rocks, 
on  river-banks,  or  in  the  forks  of  trees.  Their  arms 
consisted  of  arrows  and  darts  pointed  with  bone,  and 
sword-shaped  clubs  of  hard  wood.  Their  implements 
were  of  stone,  and  axe-blades  of  rectangular,  or  tri- 
angular, shapehavebeen  found  in  some  numbers.  Their 
pottery  is  rude  and  thick,  but  is  interesting  owing  to  the 
variety  of  moulded  ornament  with  which  it  is  decorated. 
Vases  in  form  of  tortoises  or  birds  are  common,  and 
most  of  the  pots,  bottles  and  bowls  were  adorned  with 
human  faces  or  the  figures  of  monkeys,  frogs  and  other 
animals  in  relief,  or  with  incised  geometrical  patterns. 
Plain  bottles  and  bowls  are  also  found,  always  with 
rounded  bases,  as  well  as  the  pottery  stands  upon  which 
they  rested.  Gold  wastheonly  metal  known  in  the  north- 
ern valleys,  and  was  used  entirely  for  ornament.   Other 


46    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

forms  of  adornmentwere  necklaces  of  shell, clay  and  stone 
beads,  and  stone  pendants  in  form  of  animals.  Burial 
customs  were  various ;  in  places  the  dead  were  buried  in 
the  house,  but  some  form  of  urn-burial  was  more  usual. 
In  this  respect  the  Venezuelan  tribes  differed  from 
those  of  Colombia,  and  show  an  affinity  with  the  Carib 
and  Arawak  peoples  (seeCh. XII).  The  most  interesting 
burials  are  found  in  the  neigh  bourhoodof  Lake  Valencia, 
the  ancient  Tacarigua,  the  seat  of  a  primitive  hunting 
population.  Here  a  large  mound  has  been  discovered, 
within  an  enclosure  of  rough  stones,  in  which  had  been 
deposited  a  number  of  urns,  most  of  which  contained 
bones.  Round  the  mound  were  traces  of  the  funeral 
feasts  which  had  accompanied  the  obsequies.  Other 
similar  burial  mounds  occur  in  the  neighbourhood,  as 
well  as  sites  wheretheurnshavebeen  deposited  in  simple 
trenches.  In  the  latter  case  remains  of  as  many  as  eight 
skeletons  have  been  extracted  from  a  single  urn.  Like 
the  burials  of  the  Arawak  and  Carib,  the  bodies  were 
evidently  dismembered  before  burial,  or  more  probably 
had  been  buried  for  a  season  and  the  bones  collected  and 
deposited  in  the  urn  as  their  final  resting-place.  Many 
of  the  skulls  show  that  artificial  deformation  was  prac- 
tised, the  foreheads  being  flattened,  probably  by  the  ap- 
plication of  a  board.  Other  remains  are  pottery  ocarinas, 
shell  trumpets,  bone  flutes  and  pottery  figurines,  many 
of  which  have  pierced  ears.  Numbers  of  pictographs  are 
found  on  the  rocks,  which  show  great  similarity  to  those 
of  Colombia,  and  a  further  link  with  the  region  to  the 
south-west  is  constituted  by  the  stone  statues  which  are 
found  especially  in  the  Sierra  de  Merida. 


CHAPTER  III— ECUADOR 

SOUTH  of  the  river  Ancasmayu,  roughly  as  far  as 
the  boundary  between  the  modern  states  of  Ecua- 
dor and  Peru,  existed,  some  century  before  the  arrival 
of  the  Spaniards,  a  state  which  was  more  advanced  po- 
litically than  that  of  the  Chibcha,  but  still  considerably 
inferior  to  that  of  the  Inca,  by  whom  it  was  conquered. 
If  the  Chibcha  may  be  regarded  as  illustrating  in  broad 
outline  the  condition  of  the  Peruvian  tribes  before  the 
people  of  Cuzco  had  established  their  hegemony,  the 
small  empire  of  Quito  may  equally  be  taken  to  repre- 
sent the  Inca  empire  in  its  infancy.  The  comparison 
must  not,  of  course,  be  pressed  too  closely ;  the  Cara, 
the  dominating  tribe  in  Ecuador,  did  not  possess  that 
genius  for  organization  which  distinguished  the  Inca, 
and  their  power  rested  on  far  less  stable  foundations. 
In  fact  the  relations  existing  between  them  and  the 
powerful  Cafiari  in  the  south  of  Ecuador  were  rather 
those  between  allies,  than  between  a  suzerain  state  and 
its  subjects,  and  the  bond  soon  broke  under  the  stress 
of  the  Inca  invasion.  From  the  geographical  point  of 
view  the  country  exhibits  the  same  main  features  as 
Colombia,  with  the  exception  that  the  central  mountain 
chain  disappears,  and  the  two  remaining  Cordilleras  en- 
close, not  a  single  unbroken  valley,  but  a  high  table- 
land intersected  by  small  valleys  and  transverse  chains 
of  hills.  The  coast  in  northern  Ecuador  is  still  well 
wooded  and  possesses  a  heavy  rainfall,  but  moisture 
and  vegetation  decrease  towards  the  south,  and  here 
commences  the  succession  of  arid  coastal  deserts  which 

47 


48    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

extends  through  Peru  far  into  Chile.  The  general  as- 
pect of  the  country  between  Quito  and  the  river  Maule 
has  been  so  well  summarized  by  Cieza  de  Leon  that  it 
will  be  as  well  to  give  his  description  in  his  own  words.^ 
"  In  this  land  there  are  three  desert  ranges  where 
men  can  in  no  wise  exist.  One  of  these  comprises  the 
montana  (forests)  of  the  Andes,  full  of  dense  wilder- 
nesses, where  men  cannot,  nor  ever  have  lived.  The 
second  is  the  mountainous  region,  extending  the  whole 
length  of  the  Cordillera  of  the  Andes,  which  is  intensely 
cold  and  its  summits  are  covered  with  eternal  snow, 
so  that,  in  no  way,  can  people  live  in  this  region,  owing 
to  the  snow  and  the  cold,  and  also  because  there  are  no 
provisions,  all  things  being  destroyed  by  the  snow  and 
the  wind,  which  never  ceases  to  blow.  The  third  range 
comprises  the  sandy  deserts  from  Tumbez  to  the  other 
side  of  Tarapaca,  in  which  there  is  nothing  to  be  seen 
but  sandhills  and  the  fierce  sun  which  dries  them  up, 
without  water  nor  herb  nor  tree  nor  created  thing,  ex- 
cept birds,  which,  by  the  gift  of  their  wings,  wander 
wherever  they  list.  This  kingdom,  being  so  vast,  has 
great  deserts,  for  the  reasons  1  have  now  given.  The 
inhabited  region  is  after  this  fashion.  In  parts  of  the 
mountains  of  the  Andes  there  are  ravines  and  dales, 
which  open  out  into  valleys  of  such  width  as  often  to 
form  great  plains  between  the  mountains,and, although 
the  snow  falls,  it  all  remains  on  the  higher  part.  As 
these  valleys  are  closed  in,  they  are  not  molested  by 
the  winds,  nor  does  the  snow  reach  them,  and  the  land 
is  so  fruitful  that  all  things  which  are  sown  yield  abun- 
dantly, and  there  are  trees  and  many  birds  and  animals. 
The  land,  being  so  fertile,  is  well  peopled  by  the  natives. 
They  make  their  villages  with  rows  of  stones  roofed 
with  straw,  and  live  healthily  and  in  comfort.  Thus 
the  mountains  of  the  Andes  form  these  dales  and  rav- 

1   From  the  translation  by  Sir  Clements  Markham,  published  by  the 
Hakluyt  Society. 


ECUADOR  49 

ines,  in  which  there  are  populous  villages,  and  rivers 
of  excellent  water  flow  near  them." 

The  inhabitants  of  this  area,  with  one  important  ex- 
ception, differed  in  no  very  marked  degree  from  the 
southern  tribes  of  Colombia  on  the  one  hand,  and  from 
the  northern  tribes  of  Peru  on  the  other,  at  any  rate 
before  the  coming  of  the  Inca.  Practically  the  same 
culture  persisted  as  we  have  described  in  the  last  chapters, 
modified  indeed  by  local  influences,  but  showing  no  in- 
dications of  abrupt  transition.  In  the  north  were  the 
Quillacinga  and  Pasto  tribes,  in  and  around  Quito  were 
a  people  compounded  of  the  Quitu  and  Cara,  of  whom 
more  will  be  said  immediately,  Riobamba  was  the  centre 
of  a  tribe  called  Puruha,  and,  to  the  south  of  them,  were 
the  powerful  and  turbulent  Canari  and  the  Palta.  Along 
the  coast  was  a  series  of  tribes,  varying  slightly  in  cul- 
ture among  themselves,  but  differing  in  a  more  marked 
degree  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  highlands  than  from 
each  other.  In  this  region  the  coastal  stripis  of  particu- 
lar interest  ;  the  early  inhabitants  were  artistically  far 
more  advanced  than  the  tribes  of  the  Colombian  coast, 
and  from  this  point  we  begin  to  find  that  peculiar  anti- 
thesis between  the  culture  of  the  coast  and  the  culture 
of  the  highlands,  neither  of  them  being  of  a  low  order, 
which  exists  throughout  the  whole  of  the  Inca  Empire. 
The  question  is  intricate  and  complicated,  since  spo- 
radically in  the  highlands  exist  traces  of  a  very  early 
culture,  which,  as  will  be  seen,  seems  to  be  connected 
by  certain  similarities  with  that  of  the  coast.  Another 
point,  of  even  greater  interest,  connected  with  the  mari- 
time district  of  Ecuador  lies  in  the  fact  that  several 
legends  have  come  down  to  us  which  afford  definite 
indications  of  immigration  from  the  sea ;  traditional  evi- 
dence on  this  point  is  almost  entirely  lacking  for  the 
rest  of  the  South  American  coast  with  the  exception 
of  the  neighbouring  Peruvian  province  of  Lambayeque  ; 
and  for  the  sake  of  completeness  the  myth  which  has 

E 


50    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

been  preserved  concerning  intrusive  culture  at  this  point 
will  be  related  in  this  chapter.  In  Guayaquil  a  story 
prevailed  that  once  upon  a  time  a  number  of  men  of  great 
stature  arrived  from  the  sea  in  large  balsas  (reed  rafts 
of  peculiar  construction  which  are  described  below). 
They  were  a  fierce  people  who  wore  little  clothing,  and 
they  perpetrated  many  cruelties  upon  the  original  inhabi- 
tants. Nothing  is  known  of  their  culture,  except  that 
certain  remarkable  well-like  excavations  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood were  attributed  to  them,  and  that  they  lived 
by  fishing  with  nets  and  other  gear.  Owing  to  the 
remoteness  of  their  arrival  and  the  fear  with  which  they 
were  regarded  by  the  aborigines,  an  atmosphere  of  myth 
had  gathered  around  their  persons  and  their  ultimate 
fate.  Their  large  stature  had  been  magnified  until  it 
attained  gigantic  proportions,  and  the  fossil  bones  of 
huge  mammals  were  pointed  out  as  their  bodily  re- 
mains ;  while  their  disappearance  was  assigned  to  super- 
natural means.  It  was  said  that  their  crimes  incurred 
the  wrath  of  the  unseen  powers,  and  a  youth,  gleam- 
ing like  the  sun,  came  down  from  the  sky  and  drove 
them  to  a  valley,  where  he  slew  them  with  flames  of  fire. 
The  Lambayeque  story  is  more  rational ;  a  number  of 
balsas  arrived  from  thesea  under  the  command  of  a  chief 
named  Naymlap.  The  company  seem  to  have  been  a 
complete  tribe  or  clan  rather  than  a  marauding  party, 
since  it  included  many  women,  and  the  chief  himself  was 
surrounded  by  awholesuiteof  personal  attendants.  The 
legend  details  the  names  and  functions  of  these  attend- 
ants in  the  most  circumstantial  manner;  there  were  a 
conch-blower,  a  guardian  of  the  royal  throne,  a  cup- 
bearer, an  official  to  scatter  shell-dust  in  the  path  of  the 
chief,  another  to  prepare  his  bath,  another  to  supervise 
the  preparation  of  his  body-paint,  and  a  maker  of  feather 
garments.  With  them  these  travellers  brought  an  idol 
of  green  stone,  which  they  called  Llampallec,  and  their 
first  act  on  landing  was  to  build  a  temple  for  it,  to  which 


ECUADOR  51 

they  gave  the  name  Chot.  The  chiefs  of  these  immi- 
grants seem  tohave  laid  claim  to  divine  attributes ;  at  the 
death  of  Naymlap  a  report  was  spread  that  he  had  as- 
cended to  heaven  with  wings,  and  his  successor  Cium, 
after  along  reign,  shut  himself  in  asecret  chamber  under- 
ground, and  starved  himself  to  death,  so  that  his  decease 
should  not  be  witnessed  and  the  fictitious  immortality 
of  the  sovereign  might  be  preserved.  Ten  more  chiefs 
followed,  all  of  whom  reigned  but  a  short  time,  and  the 
last  of  these,  Tempellec,  was  guilty  of  an  act  of  sacrilege 
which  put  an  end  to  the  dynasty.  He  wished  to  move 
the  idol  Llampallec  from  its  shrine,  and  thus  apparently 
incurred  the  anger  of  the  god  ;  a  deluge  of  rain,  rare  on 
this  part  of  the  coast,  fell  without  intermission  for  thirty 
days,  and  was  followed  by  a  year  of  famine.  This  mis- 
fortune was  attributed  by  the  priests  and  nobles  to  the 
wickedness  of  the  chief,  and  the  unfortunate  ruler  was 
seized,  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  cast  into  the  sea.  By 
this  time  the  immigrants  had  increased  in  numbers; 
most  of  the  chiefshad  been  blessed  with  a  numerouspro- 
geny,  and  the  younger  sons  had  moved  off  and  founded 
other  villages.  After  thedeath  of  the  ill-fated  Tempellec, 
a  republic  was  established  which  lasted  until  the  country 
was  annexed  by  the  powerful  chieftain  of  Chimu,  whose 
seat  of  government  lay  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Truxillo 
farther  south.  The  conqueror  established  a  line  of  trib- 
utary chiefs,  nine  of  whom  had  succeeded  in  order  by  the 
time  the  Spaniards  arrived.  We  are  told  that  the  reigns 
of  all  the  rulers  were  short,  and  the  fact  is  explained  by 
the  statement  that  the  prolonged  fasts  which  a  chief  had 
to  observe  at  his  succession  invariably  proved  prejudi- 
cial to  his  health.  But  the  true  explanation  may  be  that 
the  Lambayeque  chieftains  were  divine  kings,  in  whom 
was  incorporate  the  collective  soul  of  the  community; 
aslong  as  thechief  retained  thevigour  of  youth, this  vital 
principle  flourished,  but  when  he  began  to  show  signs  of 
age,  it  was  necessary  to  remove  him  lest  the  general 


52     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

prosperity  might  become  impaired.  At  his  death  the 
communal  soul  was  automatically  transferred  to  his  suc- 
cessor, who  continued  to  reign  until  he,  in  his  turn, 
showed  signs  of  waning  powers.  Chiefs  of  this  nature 
are  known  in  several  parts  of  the  world,  as  may  be  seen 
in  Dr.  Frazer's  monumental  work  the  Golden  Bough.  If 
this  explanation  be  accepted  the  peculiar  circumstances 
surrounding  the  deaths  of  the  first  two  chiefs  become 
much  more  intelligible,  and  the  fact  that  Tempellec  was 
held  responsible  for  themisfortunesof  his  people  follows 
as  a  matter  of  course. 

Yet  a  third  immigration  remains  to  be  related,  which 
had  a  more  enduring  effect  upon  the  district  with  which 
we  are  immediately  concerned.  At  an  early  date  a  de- 
scent was  made  upon  the  coast  north  of  Manta  by  a 
people  who,  like  the  giants,  came  from  the  sea  in  balsas. 
Their  chief,  or  Scyri,  was  named  Caran,  and  their  first 
settlement  was  called  after  him  Cara.  After  some  stay 
they  turned  northward  along  the  coast,  and,  upon  reach- 
ing the  river  Esmeraldas, ascended  the  stream  until  they 
arrived  at  the  territory  of  the  Quitu  on  the  slopes  of 
Pichincha.  The  Quitu  were  then  ruled  by  a  chief  of  the 
same  name,  and  were  surrounded  by  a  number  of  tribes 
of  similar  culture  who  lived  under  petty  independent 
chieftains.  The  immigrants,  called  Cara  after  their  first 
leader,  seized  a  number  of  villages,  and,  being  better 
armed  and  more  warlike  than  the  aborigines,  succeeded 
in  establishing  themselves  firmly  in  the  country.  The 
reason  which  led  them  to  migrate  from  the  coast  to  the 
highlands  is  obscure  ;  it  is  said  that  they  moved  inland 
to  escape  from  the  proximity  of  the  giants,  but  it  is  more 
probable  that  the  climate  of  the  coast  proved  too  un- 
healthy for  them,  and  it  is  equally  likely  that  this  same 
climate  proved  fatal  to  the  giants.  Once  established  in 
the  country,  the  Cara  soon  succeeded  in  annexing  the 
territory  of  the  Quitu,  and  amalgamated  with  the  former 
inhabitants,  forming  a  single  nation.    As  time  went  on. 


ECUADOR  53 

a  policy  of  expansion  was  inaugurated,  and  the  land  to 
the  north  fell  under  their  influence.  The  conquest  of  the 
south  followed,  at  least  as  far  as  the  territory  of  the  Pu- 
ruha  ;  here,  however,  the  Cara  received  a  check,  and  it 
was  not  until  the  reign  of  the  eleventh  Scyri  after  the 
conquest  of  Quito  that  the  province  of  Puruha  was  in- 
cluded in  their  empire.  Even  then  the  annexation  was 
effected  by  diplomatic  means  and  not  by  force  of  arms. 
The  course  of  events  was  as  follows :  With  the  eleventh 
Scyri  the  male  line  of  the  ruling  house  became  extinct  ; 
all  his  sons  died  young,  and  he  had  no  nephews.  One 
daughter,  however,  was  left  to  him,  and,  though  women 
were  by  law  excluded  from  power,  it  was  agreed  that  a 
husband  should  be  found  for  her,  who  should  rule  in  her 
name.  The  Scyri,  ambitious  of  further  extending  his  do- 
minions, suggested  to  the  chiefofPuruha  that  a  marriage 
should  be  arranged  between  the  latter's  son  Ducilela  and 
the  girl,  whose  name  was  Toa.  At  this  time  the  state  of 
Puruha  was  engaged  in  war  with  the  Huancavillca  of 
Guayaquil  and  the  Cafiari  on  the  southern  border,  and 
no  doubt  the  chief  was  glad  to  avail  himself  of  an  ar- 
rangement which  promised  not  only  to  relieve  him  from 
fear  of  attack  on  the  north,  but  also  to  yield  him  assist- 
ance against  his  other  foes.  The  marriage  took  place, 
and  it  was  agreed  that  the  two  provinces  should  be 
united,  that  of  Puruha  being  included  in  the  empire  of 
Quito.  The  subsequent  course  of  events,  however,  was 
little  to  the  taste  of  the  chiefofPuruha ;  the  Scyri  died, 
and  Ducilela  succeeded  to  his  position.  To  be  vassal  to 
his  own  son  was  more  than  the  haughty  chieftain  of  the 
Puruha  could  brook  ;  he  retired  from  the  country  into 
the  mountains  farther  inland  and  was  never  heard  of 
again.  The  hostilities  with  the  Canari  were  soon  re- 
placed by  an  alliance,  wliich  was  later  extended  to  include 
the  Palta  chiefs,  and  the  influence  of  the  new  Scyri  thus 
included  practically  the  whole  of  the  Ecuadorian  high- 
lands. 


54    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

How  far  these  three  immigrations,  of  the  "  Giants," 
the  people  of  Naymlap,  and  the  Cara,  were  connected 
it  is  almost  impossible  to  say.  Information  concerning 
the  "  Giants  "  is  almost  entirely  lacking  ;  the  remains 
of  the  Cara  empire  show  such  similarity  with  the 
regions  to  the  north  and  south  that  it  is  evident  their 
original  culture  became  absolutely  merged  in  that  of  the 
aborigines  as  soon  as  they  migrated  inland  ;  while  the 
archaeology  of  Lambayeque  does  not  differ  in  any  im- 
portant degree  from  that  of  the  coast  as  far  as  and  be- 
yond Truxillo.  The  remains  of  the  Ecuadorian  coast, 
though  possessing  an  individuality  entirely  their  own, 
show,  nevertheless,  certain  similarities  with  those  of  the 
Peruvian  coast,  as  will  be  seen  later.  It  is  conceivable 
that  the  whole  of  the  coast  culture,  from  Esmeraldas  to 
Yea,  may  owe  its  origin  to  a  series  of  migrations  from  a 
common  centre,  the  divergencies  being  explained  by 
local  development.  No  traditions  have  been  preserved 
from  the  maritime  population  further  south  which  shed 
any  light  on  the  question  ;  but  this  is  not  surprising, 
since  the  people  were  practically  extinct  before  their 
folklore  was  regarded  as  aught  but  the  direct  fabrication 
of  the  devil.  The  question  of  origin  is  best  reserved 
until  the  remarkable  culture  of  the  Peruvian  coast  has 
been  discussed. 

To  return  to  the  history  of  the  Cara  empire,  after 
the  union  of  Quito  and  Puruha,  a  short  period  of  peace 
prevailed  ;  Ducilela  was  followed  by  his  son,  Antachi 
Ducilela,  and  he  again  by  his  son  Hualcopo.  The  suc- 
cession of  the  latter  prince  was  marked  by  circumstances 
which  indicate  that  the  system  of  government  was  con- 
stitutional rather  than  autocratic.  Hualcopo  was  not 
the  eldest  son,  and  his  brother  Guallca  should  normally 
have  become  Scyri,  but  the  latter  was  cruel  and  un- 
popular, and  the  assembly  exercised  their  right  of  selec- 
tion and  passed  him  over  in  favour  of  his  younger 
brother.     In  this  reign  trouble  fell  upon  the  country  ; 


ECUADOR  55 

thelnca  had  been  extending  their  power  northward, and 
the  great  conqueror  Tupac  Yupanqui  arrived  with  a 
large  army  at  the  southern  borders  of  the  empire.  After 
an  attempt  at  resistance  the  country  of  the  Palta  fell  into 
his  hands,  and  Hualcopo,  rejecting  the  overtures  of  the 
Inca,  determined  to  entrench  himself  in  Puruha,  sacri- 
ficing the  country  of  the  Cailari  to  the  invader.  In  this 
he  was  wise,  the  Canari  were  allies  rather  than  subjects, 
and  no  doubt  the  Scyri  did  not  feel  sure  of  their 
fidelity  ;  besides  this  we  are  told  that  there  were  no  fort- 
resses in  the  country,  and  communication  was  difficult 
owing  to  the  absence  of  regular  roads  and  bridges.  The 
Inca  advance  was  slow  as  it  was  sure  ;  it  was  part  of 
Tupac  Yupanqui's  military  policy  to  ensure  control  over 
every  foot  of  newly  conquered  ground,  and  he  spent  two 
years  in  the  country  of  the  Canari  building  large  fort- 
resses and  otherwise  making  his  position  secure.  Mean- 
while the  Scyri  prepared  for  an  energetic  resistance,  and 
in  this  he  was  aided  by  his  brother  Epiclachima,  who 
was  a  general  of  no  mean  ability.  Fortifications  were 
raised  in  Puruha,  as  well  as  in  the  country  farther  north, 
in  order  to  provide  a  retreat  in  case  the  first  line  of  de- 
fence fell.  At  length, all  being  ready,  the  Inca  advanced, 
and  after  three  months  made  himself  master  of  Puruha. 
No  doubt  the  death  of  Epiclachima,  which  occurred 
early  in  the  course  of  hostilities,  did  much  to  discourage 
the  defenders,  and  ultimately  proved  a  greater  disaster 
than  the  loss  of  the  province  itself.  Whether  the  city 
of  Quito  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  invader  at  this  time 
is  doubtful,  but  at  any  rate  the  Inca  was  obliged  to  re- 
turn to  Cuzco  before  he  had  made  his  footing  abso- 
lutely secure.  In  his  absence  Hualcopo  died,  and  was 
succeeded  by  his  son  Cacha, who, though  infirm  in  health, 
possessed  the  indomitable  spirit  of  his  father.  Aided 
byCalicuchima,  the  worthy  son  of  Epiclachima,  the  new 
Scyri  succeeded  in  reconquering  Puruha,  but  spent  his 
energies  in  vain  against  the  Canari.      In  this  province 


56    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHi^OLOGY 

.the  Inca  had  established  too  firm  a  hold,  many  of  the 
inhabitants  had  been  deported  and  their  places  filled  with 
colonists  well-disposed  to  the  Inca,  and  those  who  re- 
mained had  grown  accustomed  to  the  new  rule.  Finally, 
another  Inca  host  appeared,  under  the  command  of  Hu- 
ayna  Ccapac  the  son  of  Tupac  Yupanqui,  and  gradually 
forced  the  Scyri  back  to  the  northern  provinces  of  his 
empire,  until  Quito  definitely  fell  into  the  hands  of  the 
invader.  In  these  operations  the  Canari  were  of  much 
assistance  to  the  Inca  troops,  and  the  forces  of  the  Scyri 
were  continually  diminished  by  desertion.  The  last  act 
was  played  in  the  plain  of  Hatuntaqui,  not  far  from  Cay- 
ambe,  where  a  desperate  battle  took  place.  Fortune  at 
first  inclined  in  favour  of  the  defenders,  but  the  death  of 
Cacha  spread  dismay  among  his  troops  and  the  Inca 
achieved  a  signal  victory.  Thebodyof  the  ill-fated  prince 
was  taken  to  Quito  for  burial,  and  his  daughter  Ccacha 
was  installed  as  regent  under  the  suzerainty  of  the  Inca. 
One  last  effort  was  made  by  the  northern  provinces,  but 
the  revolt  was  soon  subdued  ;  many  of  the  rebels  were 
captured  and  all  were  executed,  their  bodies  being  thrown 
into  a  lake  which  afterwards  bore  the  name  Yahuar- 
cocha,  or  "Lake  of  Blood."  Finally  Inca  rule  was  placed 
on  a  constitutional  foundation  by  the  marriage  of  Hu- 
ayna  Ccapac,  now  himself  Inca,  with  Ccacha,  by  which 
union  the  imperial  emerald  of  Quito  was  added  to  the 
llautu  (fringe),  which  was  the  insigne  of  the  rulers  of 
Peru.  The  country  was  organized  on  the  lines  usually 
adopted  by  the  Inca  ;  great  buildings  were  erected  in 
the  important  towns,  especially  at  Quito,  which  soon 
rose  to  be  the  capital  of  the  northern  part  of  the  Peru- 
vian empire,  almost  rivalling  Cuzco  in  importance ;  large 
sections  of  the  population  were  deported  and  replaced 
by  colonists  from  elsewhere ;  roads  were  made  ;  a  hier- 
archy of  officials  introduced  ;  and  the  river  Ancasmayu 
was  established  as  the  northern  frontier  of  the  Peruvian 
empire.  So  complete,  in  fact,  was  the  conquest,  with  the 


ECUADOR  57 

exception,  perhaps,  of  the  provinces  in  the  extreme 
north,  that,  in  spite  of  the  short  time  which  elapsed  be- 
fore the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  the  archaeology  of  the 
Ecuadorian  highlands  is  represented  in  museums  by 
almost  as  many  Inca  remains  as  aboriginal. 

Along  the  coast  different  conditions  prevail  ;  though 
in  part  conquered  by  the  Peruvians,  the  hold  of  the  latter 
upon  this  region  was  comparatively  slight,  and  their 
progress  was  marked  by  several  notable  reverses.  It  is 
said  that  Tupac  Yupanqui  first  journeyed  to  the  coast  at 
the  invitation  of  the  people  of  Tumbez,  and  proceeded 
thence  to  Guayaquil,  where  he  prepared  a  fleet  of  balsas 
in  which  he  sent  an  expedition  to  certain  islands  far  off  in 
the  Atlantic.  If  the  latter  part  of  this  account  is  true  it 
would  seem  as  if  he  reached  the  Galapagos  islands,  but 
the  evidence  is  very  doubtful.  At  any  rate,  the  Inca 
troops  made  a  reconnaissance  in  the  maritime  district, 
and  Huayna  Ccapac  subdued  the  district.  At  the  time 
that  the  latter  leader  arrived,  the  people  on  the  island  of 
Puna,  under  the  leadership  of  their  chief  Tumbala,  were 
engaged  in  a  war  with  the  people  of  Tumbez.  The  Inca, 
after  settling  the  strip  of  mainland,  including  the  region 
of  the  Huancavillca  in  Guayaquil,  sent  for  Tumbala  and 
demanded  his  submission.  The  chief  complied,  though 
with  an  ill  grace,  a  body  of  Inca  troops  with  leaders  of 
royal  blood  was  established  on  the  island  together  with 
officials  to  organize  the  district,  and  the  Inca  departed. 
Then  followed  the  tragedy.  Tumbala  conspired  with 
the  Huancavillca  to  murder  the  intruders,  and  a  cunning 
plan  was  arranged.  The  Inca  had  left  instructions  that 
the  main  portion  of  the  garrison  was  to  be  conveyed  by 
the  islanders  to  a  certain  spot  on  the  coast  where  they 
were  to  rejoin  him.  The  convoy  started,  but  when  at 
some  distance  from  the  land,  the  treacherous  islanders 
cut  the  ropes  which  held  the  rafts  together  and  precipi- 
tated the  unfortunate  Peruvians  into  the  water.  "If 
any  that  knew  how  to  swim,"  writes  Cieza  de  Leon, "  tried 


58    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

to  save  their  lives,  they  were  killed  by  fierce  and  cruel 
blows,  and  if  they  dived,  and  thus  tried  to  fly  from  their 
enemies  by  seeking  favour  of  the  fishes  that  dwell  in  the 
depths  of  the  sea,  it  was  of  no  avail,  for  the  islanders,  who 
live  much  in  the  sea  employed  in  their  fisheries,  swim  as 
well  as  the  fishes,  and  easily  overtook  the  fugitives  and 
strangled  them."  A  second  convoy  fell  victims  to  a 
similar  fate,  and  the  rest  of  the  garrison,  together  with 
the  troops  and  officials  on  the  mainland,  were  overpower- 
ed by  a  sudden  rising.  Those  that  were  not  killed  out- 
right were  reserved  for  sacrifice,  and  their  hearts  were 
offered  up  at  the  temple  on  the  island.  The  Inca  exacted 
a  terrible  vengeance  ;  large  numbers  of  the  islanders 
and  Huancavillca  were  put  to  death  in  a  cruel  fashion, 
and  the  survivors  on  the  mainland  were  compelled,  as  a 
mark  of  disgrace,  to  extract  four  teeth  in  addition  to  the 
two  which  each  individual  removed  in  accordance  with 
local  custom.  The  imposed  ordinance  was  still  observed 
at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest.  But  in  spite  ofthese 
drastic  measures  the  Inca  seem  to  have  paid  little  subse- 
quent attention  to  the  coastal  districts,  and  the  result  is 
that  few  of  their  remains  are  found  in  that  region  (an  ex- 
ception being  the  island  of  La  Plata,  where  remains  of 
Inca  type,  including  the  vase  shown  in  Fig.  6,  ^,  have 
been  discovered). 

In  the  general  sketch  of  Ecuadorian  culture  which 
follows,  attention  will  be  confined  as  far  as  possible  to 
those  features  which  appear  to  be  independentof  Inca  in- 
fluence. As  might  be  expected,  our  knowledge  of  the 
people  from  literary  sources  is  far  less  complete  than  in 
the  case  of  the  Chibcha,  since  the  country  had  been  re- 
organized by  the  Inca  before  the  white  man  arrived  upon 
the  scene.  Still  many  of  the  old  customs  had  survived, 
and  some  of  the  gaps  can  be  filled  by  deduction  from  the 
archaeological  remains.  What  literary  evidence  is  avail- 
able is  practically  confined  to  the  inland  parts  and  is  found 
principally  in  the  writings  of  Velasco.    Some  features  of 


ECUADOR  59 

the  social  system  of  the  Cara  have  already  appeared  in 
the  sketch  of  their  history  ;  the  government  was  mon- 
archic, and  hereditary  in  the  male  line  ;  if  the  deceased 
chief  left  no  sons,  the  succession  passed  to  the  sons  of  his 
sisters,  but  not,  in  the  ordinary  course  of  events,  to  a 
woman.  The  throne  was  supported  by  a  feudal  nobility, 
who  exercised  considerable  control ;  the  ordinances  of 
the  chief  required  ratification  at  their  hands,  and  they 
even  had  the  power  of  diverting  the  succession,  within 
the  limits  mentioned  above,  if  the  natural  heir  was  unfit 
for  the  position  of  Scyri.  As  before  stated,  the  insigne  of 
the  Scyri  was  a  large  emerald  ;  it  is  possible  that  the  use 
of  this  stone  as  a  royal  emblem  was  a  pure  Cara  practice, 
since  we  are  told  that  the  coast  people  of  Manta  wor- 
shipped an  emerald  as  a  god,  and  it  may  be  that  the  "  idol " 
of  green  stone  of  the  Lambayeque  immigrants  was  also 
an  emerald.  At  the  same  time,  as  we  have  seen,  emeralds 
were  held  in  high  estimation  as  ornaments  by  the  Chibcha. 
The  people  of  the  highlands  were  agriculturists,  grow- 
ing maize,  quinoa  (a  small  grain  similar  to  buckwheat) 
and  potatoes  ;  the  first  and  last  of  these  were  also  culti- 
vated on  the  coast,  together  with  other  plants,  such 
as  pepper,  which  were  suited  by  the  warmer  climate. 
The  llama  was  not  found  in  the  maritime  provinces, 
and  at  the  present  time  its  northern  limit  inland  is  Rio- 
bamba,  but  it  existed  in  the  northern  provinces  of  Ecua- 
dor as  late  as  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest,  as  we 
know  from  the  following  amusing  story.  The  news  of 
the  white  strangers,  and  their  audacity  in  seizing  the 
sacred  person  of  Atahualpa,  had  filled  the  empire  with  dis- 
may ;  the  stories  of  their  invincible  power,  the  terrible 
monsters  which  they  bestrode,  and  their  lust  for  gold — 
stories  which,  we  may  be  sure,  lost  nothing  in  the  telling 
— had  increased  the  general  apprehension.  In  particu- 
lar the  chief  of  Cayambe,  near  Otovalo,  was  filled  with 
anxiety,  since  he  had  a  large  treasure  stored  at  the  village 
of  Caranqui.     The  chief  of  Otovalo,  taking  advantage 


6o     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

of  his  fears,  concocted  the  following  ingenious  plan.  He 
mounted  a  number  of  his  men  on  llamas,  placed  wands  in 
their  hands,  and  told  them  to  show  themselves  on  the 
mountain  slopes  above  Caranqui.  He  then  with  the  rest 
of  his  retainers  rushed  in  disorder  to  that  village,  crying 
out  that  the  Spaniards  were  coming,  and  pointing  out 
the  strange  troop  which  was  descending  the  mountain- 
side. The  ruse  was  successful,  the  inhabitants  of  Car- 
anqui sought  safety  in  immediate  flight,  and  the  chief  of 
Otovalo  possessed  himself  of  the  treasure  at  his  leisure. 

On  the  coast,  and  especially  in  the  islands, the  inhabit- 
ants were  expert  fishers,  and  the  peculiar  craft  in  which 
they  plied  their  trade  merit  a  word  of  description.  These 
rafts,  or  balsas  as  they  were  called  by  the  Spaniards,  were 
made  of  an  odd  number  of  poles  or  bundles  of  rushes 
fastened  together,  the  longest  in  the  centre  ;  on  these 
the  passengers  sat  or  knelt,  and  plied  a  single  paddle 
of  wood  or  bamboo  first  on  one  side,  then  on  the 
other  (see  Pis. XIII,  i,andXXI,2,and  Fig.  9).  In  fish- 
ing, when  the  Indian  got  fast  in  a  large  fish,  he  clasped 
his  small  craft  with  his  legs  and  allowed  the  quarry  to 
tow  him  hither  and  thither  until  worn  out.  The  balsas 
were  mostly  small,  but  some  were  seen  by  the  Spaniards 
which  could  carry  fifty  men  and  three  horses.  This  type 
of  boat,  which  in  this  neighbourhood  seems  occasionally 
to  have  been  used  with  sails  in  the  pre-Spanish  days, 
was  found  all  down  the  Peruvian  coast,  as  well  as  on 
lake  Titicaca. 

The  clothing  of  the  peoples  of  Ecuador  differed 
from  that  of  the  Colombians,  and  was  based  on  two 
garments,  a  girdle  with  a  strip  passing  between  the 
legs  and  a  short  tunic.  In  the  highlands  a  robe  was 
worn  also  and  the  women  wore  a  short  skirt.  Here 
the  tunics  reached  to  the  knees,  but  on  the  coast  they 
were  cut  short  at  the  lower  part  of  the  chest  or  at 
the  waist.  The  clothing  was  woven  of  cotton,  and 
also,  in  the  highlands,  of  llama-wool.    Methods  of  hair- 


ECUADOR  6 1 

dressing  and  types  of  head-covering  differed  consider- 
ably, since  it  was  the  custom  among  the  Andean  peoples 
for  different  tribes  to  observe  different  fashions  in  this 
respect.  With  regard  to  the  inland  tribes  of  Ecuador, 
it  is  difficult  to  say  how  far  the  local  fashions  were  of 
Inca  introduction,  since  the  Inca  were  accustomed  to 
regulate  the  hair-  and  head-dresses  of  their  vassals  by 
law,  so  that  a  man's  tribe  could  at  once  be  knov/n  from 
his  costume.  Thus  the  Canari  wore  their  hair  long,  but 
fastened  up  on  the  head  and  confined  by  a  cane  hoop, 
from  which  depended  a  fringe,  or  by  a  calabash  ;  the 
Puruha  plaited  their  hair  into  numerous  little  tresses. 
On  the  coast  the  centre  of  the  head  was  shaved,  and  the 
hair  at  the  sides  brushed  up  so  as  to  add  breadth  to  the 
head  and  exaggerate  the  form  of  artificial  deformation 
which  was  common  in  the  district.  Here  the  heads  of 
infants  were  confined  between  two  boards,  fastened 
along  the  forehead  and  at  the  back  of  the  head,  so 
that  these  parts  were  flattened,  while  free  expansion 
was  allowed  at  the  sides  (compare  PL  X,  i  and  2)  ;  a 
like  practice  was  common  among  the  Palta,  neighbours 
of  the  Canari.  From  a  study  of  the  many  figurines 
which  have  been  found  on  the  coast,  we  know  that 
close-fitting  caps,  sometimes  with  flaps  for  the  ears, 
were  worn,  and  that  the  inhabitants  pierced  their  ear- 
lobes,  nostrils,  and  lower  lips  for  the  reception  of  or- 
naments. Gold  and  emeralds  were  worn  in  this  way. 
Other  ornaments  were  beads  of  gold,  pottery,  and 
stone,  finger-rings,  breast-plates,  and  pendants.  Simi- 
lar ornaments  were  worn  in  the  highlands  ;  here  the 
semilunar  nose-plates  of  the  Quillacinga  were  particu- 
larly characteristic,  and  probably  gave  this  tribe  their 
name,  which  is  said  to  mean  "  Men  of  the  crescent." 
Sandals  were  also  worn  in  the  upland  districts.  It  seems 
probablethat  some  form  of  tattooing  was  practisedlocally 
on  the  coast  ;  Garcilasso  speaks  of  people  who  "punc- 
tured their  faces  with  sharp-pointed  stones,"  and  Cieza 


62     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

de  Leon  of  men  who  were  "  marked  in  the  face,  and  the 
mark  begins  at  the  root  of  the  ear  and  descends  to  the 
chin."  Thecoastpeopleof  Peru  certainly  tattooed  them- 
selves, and  also,  as  will  be  seen,  practised  the  same  form 
of  head-deformation. 

But  the  most  interesting  form  of  mutilation  concerns 
the  teeth  ;  some  individuals,  presumably  the  more  prom- 
inent men,  had  small  holes  drilled  in  the  outer  face  of 
the  incisors,  and  small  plugs  of  gold  hammered  in.  This 
was  done  solely  for  ornament,  and  the  practice  does 
not  correspond  in  any  way  to  the  dentist's  "  filling  "  of 
civilized  countries.  The  enamel  of  the  teeth  is  an  ex- 
tremely hard  substance,  and  it  is  difficult  to  imagine 
by  what  means  these  holes  were  made.  It  is  possible 
that  the  implement  used  was  armed  with  one  of  the 
small  flakes  of  transparent  quartz-crystal  which  are  found 
only  on  the  coast  (and  which  may  also  have  been  used 
for  cutting  emeralds,  an  operation  in  which  the  coast- 
people  were  very  adept).  In  any  case  it  is  interesting 
to  note  with  what  skill  the  operator  has  avoided  the 
nerve.  The  holes  are  sunk  about  half-way  through 
the  tooth,  the  base  is  flat,  and  the  sides  quite  perpen- 
dicular. Of  ornaments  expressing  rank  the  great 
emerald  worn  on  the  forehead  by  the  Scyri  has  already 
been  mentioned  ;  the  Cara  nobles  were  entitled  to  bear 
on  their  heads  a  crest  consisting  of  a  double  row  of 
feathers,  while  the  warriors  bore  a  similar  crest,  but  with 
only  a  single  row  of  plumes. 

The  habitations  of  the  Ecuadorian  tribes  fall  roughly 
into  two  types,  corresponding  to  the  coastal  and  inland 
regions.  Inland  were  found  small  dwellings,  built  of 
rough  stones  and  roofed  with  thatch,  and  it  is  probable 
that  such  buildings  were  in  use  before  the  coming  of 
the  Inca.  But  of  more  important  buildings,  even  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  traces  of  two  alone  remained  which 
could  with  certainty  be  assigned  to  the  aborigines.  One 
of  these  was  of  rough  stone,  the  other  of  mud.     On  the 


PLATE    V 


C(JLO.M!!IA 
Gold  Helmet  :  (^lumbav 

(Scale  :   2/5  I'HS) 


British  Mu.^ctm 


K(  lADOk 
SroNK  Seat:  Manahi 


ECUADOR 


63 


coast  mud  was  regularly  employed,  fashioned  into 
large  bricks  called  adobes,  and  a  roof  of  mats  was  added ; 
huts  of  cane  were  also  constructed.  But  in  Manabi, 
just  that  region  where,  as  we  have  seen,  tradition  relates 
that  immigration  occurred,  remains  of  stone  dwellings 
have  been  discovered,  with  which  are  associated  remains 
of  a  peculiar  character.  Many  of  these  buildings  are 
large,  as  much  as  190  feet  long;  some  are  divided  into 
several  chambers,  and  some  are  on  terraced  slopes  ap- 
proached by  graded  ways. 
The  walls  consist  of  a  double 
facing  of  rough  stones  filled 
with  smaller  stones  and  earth. 
Associated  with  these  build- 
ings are  certain  remarkable 
chairs,  cut  from  solid  stone, 
consisting  of  a  seat  with  arms 
but  no  back,  supported  on  the 
back  of  a  crouching  man  or 
puma  (PI.  V,  Fig.  2).  A  com- 
paratively large  number  of 
these  seats  has  been  discov- 
ered, but  all  within  a  small 
area,  and  it  is  of  interest  that 
no  mention  either  of  them  or 
of  the  buildings  is  made  by 

the  early  chroniclers.      Large  Fig.  3.— Stone  slab  carved  in  relief; 
,1  i        •^\.    £1  Manabi  (after  Saville). 

stone  slabs  carved  with  ng- 

ures  of  men  and  animals  in  relief  also  occur  in  the 
neighbourhood  and  are  quite  peculiar  to  the  district 
(Fig.  3).  In  some  of  the  figures  the  face  is  represented 
upside-down,  as  if  to  imply,  by  a  peculiar  convention, 
that  the  creature  is  gazing  sky-ward,  a  convention  also 
found  occasionally  in  Peru,  both  in  the  inland  and  mari- 
time districts. 

Other  peculiar  objects  are  stone  pillars,  some  with 
animal   supporters,  the   object  of  which  is  unknown, 


64     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

butwhichbearacertain  resemblance  to  thecarved  wooden 
tables  made  by  the  prehistoric  inhabitants  of  the  Greater 
Antilles,  and  used  by  them  as  altars  on  which  to  deposit 
offerings.  The  wells  mentioned  above,  which  were  at- 
tributed to  the  "  giants,"  are  found  in  this  locality  ; 
they  are  deep  circular  excavations  cut  in  the  solid  rock 
or  lined  with  rough  stones.  One  of  the  former  class 
is  42  feet  deep,  exclusive  of  the  earth  which  has  been 
washed  into  it  ;  many  of  them  are  now  filled  up,  but 
the  water  reappears  as  soon  as  they  are  cleared. 

Several  forms  of  burial  were  practised  ;  of  which  that 
indigenous  to  the  highlands  seems  to  have  been  simple 
inhumation,  which  is  recorded  of  northern  Ecuador, 
Puruha  and  the  original  inhabitants  of  Quito.  Velasco 
states  that  the  Cara  introduced  another  custom  ;  the 
body  was  laid  on  the  ground,  or  seated  on  a  stool,  and 
the  nearest  relation  placed  a  stone  at  its  side  ;  more 
stones  were  brought  until  a  wall  was  built  enclosing  the 
corpse.  A  vault  was  then  added,  and  the  whole,  by  the 
further  addition  of  stones  and  earth,  transformed  into 
a  mound,  the  height  of  which  was  proportionate  to  the 
rank  of  the  deceased.  Such  mounds  or  tolas  are  said  to 
be  characteristic  of  a  definite  region,  extending  roughly 
from  Quito  northwards,  and  the  attribution  may  be 
correct.  These  tolas  are  of  various  shapes,  circular,  oval 
or  cruciform,  and  sometimes  contain  more  than  one  body. 
In  some  places  rude  stone  statues  have  been  found  in 
them.  The  finding  of  stone  statuary  appears  to  link  this 
type  of  burial  with  the  Manabi  district  of  the  coast,  where 
so  many  stone,  sculptures  have  been  found,  and  where 
mound-burial  was  also  practised.  The  tomb  of  the  Scyri 
was  a  more  elaborate  construction,  rectangular  in  plan 
and  pyramidal  in  outline,  built  of  large  stones.  The 
bodies  were  arranged  round  the  walls,  and  above  each 
was  a  niche  in  the  wall  with  a  figurine  of  pottery  or  metal 
representing  the  deceased  ;  over  all  a  mound  was  heaped. 
Velasco  says  that  the  bodies  of  the  Scyri  were  embalmed, 


ECUADOR  65 

and  that  the  small  figurines  were  encrusted  with  stones 
of  various  colours  which  indicated  the  age  of  the  dead 
Scyri  and  the  length  of  their  reigns.  The  Ecuadorians 
had  no  form  of  writing,  and  the  Peruvian  method  of 
recording  events  and  keeping  accounts  by  means  of 
knotted  cords  was  also  unknown  to  them  ;  but  it  is  stated 
that  small  pebbles  of  various  sizes,  shapes  and  colours 
were  used  for  a  similar  purpose. 

Of  the  coast  little  can  be  said  on  this  subject  ex- 
cept of  Manabi  and  Esmeraldas,  where  Saville's  ex- 
cavations have  produced  interesting  results.  Here,  as 
said  above,  the  dead  were  buried  in  large  mounds  ; 
these  are  low  flat  structures,  larger  than  the  inland 
tolas,  reared  in  some  cases  on  a  floor  of  baked  clay. 
The  upper  surface  measures  at  times  as  much  as  50 
by  30  feet,  and  there  is  usually  a  short  monolith  at 
each  end.  An  important  feature  of  the  mound  is  a 
clay  platform  at  one  end,  where  pots  with  ashes  have 
been  found.  Such  platforms  may  have  been  placed 
where  off'erings  were  made.  It  is  said  that  the  Cara 
performed  ceremonies  on  the  tola,  both  at  the  funeral 
and  on  the  subsequent  anniversaries,  and  possibly  these 
coast  people  did  the  same.  The  bodies  are  generally 
found  dotted  here  and  there  in  the  mound,  and  various 
fragments  of  pottery,  implements,  and  stone  statues  are 
found  associated  with  them.  Mortuary  chambers  and 
pits  were  also  cut  in  the  rock,  for  the  reception  of  the 
dead.  Of  the  inland  peoples  it  is  said  that,  in  the  case 
of  an  important  individual,  his  favourite  wife  was  in- 
terred with  him,  but  no  trace  of  any  form  of  human 
sacrifice  on  the  occasion  of  a  funeral  has  been  found  on 
the  coast,  though  Cieza  de  Leon  attributes  the  practice 
to  the  inhabitants  of  Porto  Viejo.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  that  urn-burial,  which  seems  in  general  not  to  have 
been  practised  by  the  Andean  peoples,  has  been  re- 
ported of  one  of  the  northern  provinces,  and,  further, 
that  the  Puruha  are  said  to  have  sacrificed  their  first- 


66     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

born  and  preserved  the  bodies  in  vessels  of  stone  or 
metal.  It  will  be  seen  later  that  in  the  territory  of  the 
Diaguite  tribes  of  the  mountainous  districts  of  north- 
west Argentina  cemeteries  have  been  discovered  in 
which  the  bodies  of  new-born  children  were  deposited, 
enclosed  in  well-painted  pottery  vases,  while  in  parts  of 
Peru  the  bodies  of  twins  are  said  to  have  been  similarly 
preserved. 

With  regard  to  religion,  the  beliefs  and  practices 
throughout  Ecuador  seem  to  have  been  much  the  same, 
to  speak  generally, as  in  Colombia.  In  the  highlands,  the 
"official"  cult  was  that  of  the  Sun  and  Moon, and  Moon- 
worship  was  found  also  among  the  Canari.  In  Quito 
were  two  chief  temples  on  opposite  hills  ;  one  of  these 
was  dedicated  to  the  Sun, a  square  building  of  stone  with 
a  pyramidal  roof  and  a  door  facing  the  east.  On  either 
side  of  this  door  was  a  monolithic  pillar,  said  to  have 
been  used  as  a  gnomon  for  calculating  the  calendar,  and 
round  the  building  were  twelve  shorter  pillars  repre- 
senting the  months.  The  other  temple  was  that  of  the 
Moon,  a  circular  construction  with  windows  of  similar 
shape.  These  temples  were  erected  by  the  early  Scyri, 
but  the  cult  seems  to  have  existed  in  the  country  before 
they  arrived,  since  Sun-worship,  probably,  was  not  prac- 
tised on  the  coast  before  the  Inca  conquest.  At  Liri- 
bamba  was  a  temple  to  the  god  of  war,  whose  image  was 
a  pottery  vase  in  the  shape  of  a  human  head  into  which 
the  blood  of  prisoners  was  poured  before  the  Scyri  abol- 
ished the  practice.  But  the  popular  religion  consisted 
in  the  worship  of  certain  animals  ;  for  instance,  the 
Canari  believed  themselves  to  be  descended  from  a 
huge  snake,  which  had  its  home  in  a  lake  above  Sigsig, 
and  to  which  offerings  of  gold  in  the  form  of  figures 
were  thrown,  just  as  in  the  Chibcha  country.  A  similar 
snake-cult  was  found  in  the  northern  provinces,  and  the 
local  worship  of  pumas,  trees,  and  stones  was  common 
throughout  the  country.     This  more  primitive  form  of 


ECUADOR  67 

religion  was  also  typical  of  the  coast.  Trees,  stones, 
snakes,  beasts,  and  fishes  were  worshipped.  According 
to  Zarate,  writing  of  Manabi,  the  doors  of  the  temple 
faced  east,  and  were  covered  with  cotton  hangings,  in- 
side the  door  were  two  figures  of  black  goats  to  which 
incense  was  offered.  These  *'  goats  "  were  probably 
pumas,  such  as  that  seen  by  Benzoni.  But,  besides  the 
local  cults,  there  existed  a  general  worship  of  the  sea, 
the  element  from  which  the  inhabitants  drew  their 
supplies,  and  which  here  took  the  place  accorded  to  the 
Sun  by  the  inlanders.  At  Manta  in  Manabi  was  a  cele- 
brated temple  to  the  god  of  healing,  named  Umina, 
whose  image  was  cut  from  an  enormous  emerald.  On 
the  island  of  Puna  was  another,  equally  famous,  to 
Tumbal,  the  god  of  war,  where  the  hearts  of  prisoners 
were  offered  up ;  and  the  island  of  La  Plata  was  also  re- 
garded as  sacred.  Human  sacrifice  seems  to  have  been 
fairly  common  on  the  coast,  the  blood  and  heart  of  the 
victim  constituting  the  offering.  In  Manabi  the  victims 
were  flayed,  the  skins  filled  with  ashes,  and  preserved; 
and  omens  were  taken  from  the  condition  of  the  entrails. 
At  Guayaquil  human  sacrifices  were  made  at  the  season 
of  sowing,  and  the  same  occasion  was  marked  by  sacri- 
fices of  children  among  the  Canari  inland. 

With  regard  to  the  arts  and  crafts  of  the  Ecua- 
dorians some  details  have  already  transpired  in  the  fore- 
going passages.  It  has  been  seen  that  the  coast  people, 
at  any  rate  in  the  district  of  Manabi,  worked  stone  with 
considerable  facility.  Indeed,  they  were  far  more  ex- 
pert in  this  particular  than  the  inland  peoples,  among 
whom  nothing  comparable  to  the  sculptured  slabs,  seats, 
and  pillars  of  the  coast  are  to  be  found.  It  is  a  little 
surprising,  therefore,  to  note  that,  in  the  area  where 
such  sculptures  are  relatively  common,  implements  of 
stone  are  extremely  rare,  and  that  in  the  highlands 
they  have  been  found  in  considerable  abundance.  These 
consist  in  the  main  of  club-heads  and  axes,  all  of  pol- 


68     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

ished  stone,  of  various  patterns,  none  of  which  are  pecu- 
liar to  a  given  district.  The  variety  of  type  is  best 
expressed  by  means  of  illustration,  and  can  be  seen  in 
Fig.  4.  The  most  common  form  of  club-head  is  that  in 
the  form  of  a  star  (Fig.  4,  g),  somewhat  similar  to  the 
type  found  in  New  Guinea,  and  this  is  furnished  with  a 


Fig.  4. — Stone  axe-blades  and  club-heads  from  the  Ecuadorian  high- 
lands, a,  Riobamba  ;  6,  c,  and  ^,  Quito ;  d,  Cuenca  ;  e  and  /, 
near  Riobamba  ;  /,  A,  and  /,  Otovalo ;  h  and  ?//,  Cayambe. 

hole  in  which  the  handle  was  inserted.  Some  bi-conical 
stones,  however,  have  been  found,  encircled  by  a  shallow 
groove,  and  these  must  have  been  attached  to  the  haft 
with  a  lashing.  The  axe-heads  are  more  varied  ;  some 
are  pierced,  others  notched,  others  again  are  furnished 
with  "  ears."  The  latter  type  has  been  found  on  the 
coast,  and  of  such  a  size  as  to  be  of  no  practical  use.  It 
has  been  suggested  that  these  enormous  specimens,  one 


ECUADOR 


69 


of  which,  found  on  the  island  of  Puna,  is  no  less  than 
19I-  inches  in  length,  were  used  as  gongs,  but  it  seems 
more  likely  that  they  had  a  ceremonial  significance. 
Stone  mortars  and  grindstones  for  preparing  grain  are 
not  uncommon,  especially  on  the  coast,  while  miniature 
mortars,  probably  for  grinding  pigment,  and  models 


Fig.  5. — Copper  axe-blades  and  mace-heads  from  Ecuador  ;  all  from 
Pindilie,  Cuenca,  except  k,  which  was  found  at  Chordeleg. 

of  maize-heads  (like  Fig.  27,  ^),  most  likely  charms, 
have  been  found  inland.  We  know  that  slings  were 
used  almost  everywhere,  the  Canari  slingers  being 
especially  adept  and  proving  of  great  value  in  the 
service  of  the  Inca,  and  many  of  the  indeterminate 
spheroid  stones  discovered  may  be  sling-stones.  Spear- 
throwers,  similar  in  type  to  those  of  the  Chibcha, 
were  used  for  hurling  darts,  and  the  hooks  of  these 
seem  in  many  cases  to  have  been  made  of  stone.    The 


JO    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

coast-people  were  very  adept  at  cutting  precious  stones, 
especially  emeralds.  Gold  was  known  and  worked 
with  some  facility,  though  it  is  not  common.  The 
metal  was  both  beaten  and  cast,  such  specimens  as 
PI.  IV,  Fig.  I,  a  thin  disc  with  a  face  in  high  relief, 
being  masterpieces  of  hammered  work.  In  the  north- 
ernmost provinces  of  the  highlands  the  work  is  very 
similar  to  that  of  the  Quimbaya,  but  on  the  coast  the 
technique  is  different.  Here  gold  seems  to  have  been 
less  rare,  and  we  are  told  by  Zarate  that  the  people  of 
Puna  used  axes,  spear-heads  and  vessels  of  this  ma- 
terial. However,  the  weapons  at  least  may  have  been 
of  plated  copper  ;  the  Canari  and  the  coast  people  were 
skilled  in  covering  copper  objects  with  thin  gold  leaf, 
and  most  of  the  axes  shown  in  Fig.  5  are  specimens  of 
this  art.  The  exact  method  employed  is  not  known, 
but  the  leaf  may  have  been  hammered  on,  or  the 
mould  may  have  been  lined  with  leaf  before  the 
molten  copper  was  poured  in.  Copper  is  much  more 
common,  and  most  of  the  stone  axe-heads  have  their 
copper  counterparts.  The  gold-plated  specimens  from 
Cuenca  are  thin,  and  seem  to  have  been  intended 
rather  for  ceremonial  than  practical  use ;  no  doubt  they 
were  carried  by  chiefs.  Of  the  more  "  business-like  " 
examples  the  type  shown  in  Fig.  5,  k  is  characteristic  of 
the  Chordeleg  and  Sigsig  district  of  Cuenca,  though  ex- 
amples have  made  their  way  to  the  coast  (Guayaquil). 
Copper  club-heads  with  ornamental  open-work  have 
also  been  found  in  the  Canari  district  (Fig.  5,/),  and 
copper  bowls,  bells,  and  small  tweezers  for  plucking 
out  hair,  are  common  in  most  localities.  But  the  most 
curious  objects  are  large  discs,  similar  to  the  gold  speci- 
men mentioned  above,  but  of  greater  size,  which  are 
characteristic  of  Manabi  (PI.  VII,  2).  These  were  pro- 
bably used  as  breast-ornaments,  though  the  suggestion 
has  been  made  that  they  were  gongs.  At  Manabi  a 
mound  has  been  found,  containing  an  excavation  lined 


nLAlE    17 


lirilish  Mil 

ECUADOR 

1,4-11.    IllClII.AMi    rOTTKKV 

2.  I'ol  IKKV    (IrAIEK    SKT    Willi    STO.NK:    EsM  KRAI. DAS 

3.  I'dlTKRV    Wins  11,1',  ;    ESMKRAI.IIAS 

(Scale:    1-3,  3/'ioiil.s;  4-11,  1/7111) 


ECUADOR  71 

with  clay,  which  has  been  calcined  by  heat;  at  the  bottom 
was  a  quantity  of  vitrified  slag,  and  it  is  possible  that  this 
was  a  furnace  for  metal-casting.  But,  as  no  trace  of  metal 
was  discovered  there,  it  may  equally  well  have  been 
a  pottery  kiln.  A  few  words  must  be  said  of  the  pottery, 
which  constitutes  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  archaeo- 
logical remains.  In  this  respect  also  the  inhabitants  of 
the  maritime  districts  surpassed  the  inlanders  ;  not 
only  is  the  quality  of  the  paste  better,  but  the  forms 
are  more  varied  and  graceful,  the  modelling  more  skil- 
ful (PI.  VI  and  Fig.  6,  b)y  and  polychrome  decoration, 
rare  in  the  highlands,  is  frequently  applied.  Of  the  in- 
land districts  (see  Pis.  VI,  4-1 1,  and  VIII,  i  and  2), 
those  in  the  north  appear  to  furnish  the  best  pottery, 
and  the  vases  of  the  region  near  the  boundary  bear  a 
resemblance  to  those  of  Colombia.  The  Quillacinga 
graves  have  yielded  vases  of  good  paste  mixed  with 
sand,  moulded  in  a  variety  of  shapes,  human  and 
animal,  and  sometimes  ornamented  with  painted  de- 
signs. Ornament  in  relief,  in  the  form  of  monkeys, 
frogs,  snakes,  birds,  and  lizards,  is  common,  the  first 
of  these  animals  predominating,  and  pottery  trumpets, 
in  the  form  of  conch-shells,  are  often  found.  Much 
of  the  ornament  in  relief  appears  to  have  been  formed 
by  the  aid  of  moulds.  Elsewhere  in  the  highlands  both 
red  and  black  ware  is  found,  but  the  former  is  far  more 
common  ;  the  forms  are  sufficiently  varied,  bowls  with 
or  without  feet  (PI.  VI,  5,  6,  9,  11),  cups  (PI.  VI, 
4),  and  anthropomorphic  vases  (PI.  VIII,  i  and  2) 
are  all  found.  The  latter^  however,  seem  to  be  more 
common  in  the  Puruha  district,  and  are  usually  rude 
and  conventional.  In  the  north  a  subdued  decoration 
in  red,  bufF  or  black  slip  is  often  added,  as  may  be  seen 
in  PI.  VI,  7-9.  Of  these  the  first  was  found  in 
the  Puruha  country,  but  was  probably  imported 
thither  from  further  north.  Standard  bowls  of  the 
type  seen  in  PI.  VI,  5,  6  and  9,  usually  have  most  of 


72     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

the  decoration  on  the  interior  surface,  but  incised  orna- 
ment seems  again  to  be  characteristic  of  the  Puruha. 
Some  of  the  anthropomorphic  vases  from  this  neigh- 
bourhood (PI.  VIII,  I  and  2)  represent  a  figure 
holding  a  cup  ;  this  design,  as  we  have  seen,  is  found 
in  Colombia,  and  it  will  be  met  again  in  Peru(Pl.  VIII,  3), 
and  even  as  far  south  as  the  north-west  Argentine. 
Moulded  ornament,  apart  from  the  latter  type  of  vase, 
is  not  common.  On  the  coast  some  of  the  most  in- 
teresting pottery  remains  are  the  numerous  figurines 
(Pis.  VI,  3,  VII,  i),  which  shed  considerable  light  upon 


Fig.  6. — Pottery  from  the  Ecuadorian  coast,     a  and  h,  Manabi  (after 
Saville) ;  c.  La  Plata  I.  Inca  type  (after  Dorsey). 

the  dress,  ornaments  and  appearance  of  the  inhabit- 
ants. Most  of  these,  especially  in  Manabi,  are  modelled 
with  considerable  skill  and  exhibit  no  little  character. 
The  majority  were  painted  with  red  and  green  slip. 
As  regards  vases,  those  of  Manabi,  again,  are  the 
best,  and  the  moulded  cups  and  standing  bowls  of  this 
district  are  admirable  specimens  of  pottery  made  solely 
by  hand  without  the  use  of  the  wheel  (Fig.  6,  a  and  b). 
Such  vases  are  usually  without  painted  ornament,  rely- 
ing for  their  general  effect  solely  on  the  quality  of 
their  modelling  and  their  burnish,  but  painted  decora- 
tion is  found,  in  black,  brown,  yellow,  and  blue.  Pot- 
tery of  a  coarser   type   also  occurs,  large  urns  with 


ECUADOR  73 

rude  human  features  on  the  necks.  The  paste  varies 
greatly  in  quality  ;  in  the  majority  of  specimens  it  is 
reddish,  but  the  moulded  cups  are  usually  black.  Pot- 
tery of  a  pale  grey,  much  mixed  with  sand,  is  also  found, 
and  is  quite  characteristic  of  Esmeraldas  as  well  as  of 
Manabi ;  and  of  this  grey  pottery  were  made  the  objects 
which  are  perhaps  the  most  typical  of  the  coast  district, 
flat  pottery  graters  (PI.  VI,  2),  which  are  often  set  with 
minute  chips  of  stone.  Some  of  the  ornament  in  re- 
lief was  formed  by  means  of  stamps  and  moulds,  both 
of  which  are  found  in  some  quantities.  The  former 
are  very  similar  to  those  of  Colombia,  and  the  latter  to 
those  of  the  Peruvian  coast ;  many  of  the  figurines  were 
evidently  mould-made.  Whistles,  or  ocarinas,  often  in 
human  form,  with  two  or  more  notes,  are  found  all  over 
Ecuador.  Two  of  these,  each  with  two  finger-holes  at 
the  back,  are  figured  in  PI.  VI,  Figs,  i  and  3,  and 
illustrate  well  the  difference  in  skill  shown  in  model- 
ling the  human  figure  by  the  inland  and  coastal  tribes 
respectively.  Pottery  braziers,  such  as  PI.  VII,  Fig.  i, 
appear  to  be  confined  to  the  coast-land.  Of  other  pot- 
tery objects,  mention  must  be  made  of  the  spindle 
whorls  which  are  found  in  numbers  especially  in  Man- 
abi, engraved  with  more  or  less  conventional  figures  of 
animals.  The  pottery  of  La  Plata  Island  resembles 
rather  that  of  the  highlands. 

This  sketch  of  Ecuadorian  culture  is  necessarily  in- 
complete, since  the  archaeology  of  a  large  part  of  the 
interior  is  very  little  known.  Much  requires  to  be 
done  in  the  way  of  research,  especially  in  the  southern 
districts,  and  the  remains  in  museums  need  careful 
classification  before  it  can  be  said  that  this  or  that  type 
is  definitely  characteristic  of  a  given  region.  As  far 
as  the  coast  is  concerned,  much  useful  work  has  been, 
and  is  being,  done  by  the  George  G.  Heye  expedition, 
which  has  shown  that  in  spite  of  certain  similarities, 
great  differences  exist  between  the  respective  cultures  of 


74    SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

Manabi  and  Esmeraldas  ;  of  which  the  most  important 
are  as  follows  :  stone  implements  are  rare  in  Manabi, but 
relatively  common  in  Esmeraldas  ;  but  on  the  other 
hand  stone  sculpture,  which  is  highly  developed  in  the 
former,  is  hardly  found  in  the  latter  province  ;  and  the 
remains  of  stone  buildings  are  confined  to  Manabi. 


CHAPTER     IV— THE    GROWTH    OF    THE 
PERUVIAN  EMPIRE 

IN  the  last  chapter  some  account  was  given  of  the  final 
victories  in  that  series  of  conquests  by  which  the 
Inca  people  became  masters  of  an  empire  extending,  at 
the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest,  from  the  river  Ancas- 
mayu  in  the  north,  to  the  river  Maule  in  Chile,  and  in- 
cluding the  modern  states  of  Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia 
and  part  of  Chile  and  north-west  Argentina.  The 
country  included  within  these  limits,  as  far  as  its  phy- 
sical aspect  is  concerned,  has  already  been  described  in 
the  words  of  that  admirable  observer  Cieza  de  Leon  ; 
all  that  need  be  added  is  that  he  has  perhaps  not  laid 
sufficient  stress  upon  the  extreme  beauty  and  fertility 
of  the  valleys,  especially  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Cuzco, 
and  the  almost  breathless  grandeur  of  the  mountain 
scenery  in  the  same  region.  The  heroes  of  the  follow- 
ing short  historical  sketch  are  the  tribes  who  peopled 
the  valley  of  Cuzco  ;  and  the  most  important  of  their 
neighbours werethefollowing.  Tothesouth-west,south, 
and  south-east  were  the  Cotabamba,  Chumpivilca  and 
Ayamarca.  Beyond  these  were  the  Cana  and  Canchi  of 
the  upper  Vilcomayu,  and  southward  of  them  the  Colla' 
tribes.  To  the  west  were  the  Quichua  and  the  Chanca 
of  Andahuaylas,  the  latter  of  whom  extended  to  the 

^  Prof.  Uhle  objects  to  the  term  Colla  on  the  grounds  that  it  is 
merely  geographical  and  not  ethnographical ;  but  even  so  it  seems  prefer- 
able to  "  Aymara,"  as  a  general  term  for  the  tribes  south  of  Cuzco.  Sir 
Clements  Markham  has  shown  that  the  term  Aymara,  as  applied  to  the 
language  of  this  district,  rests  on  a  misapprehension  of  the  early  Jesuit 
missionaries,  who  learnt  the  tongue  from  certain  initimaes  (colonists), 
coming  originally  from  a  small  place  of  that  name  within  the  Quichua- 
speaking  region.  The  region  inhabited  by  the  Colla  is  termed  generally 
the  Coliao. 

75 


76     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

north-west ;  beyond  theChanca,around  Xauxa,were  the 
Huanca,  and  beyond  the  Quichua  the  Lucana.  To  the 
eastandnorth-eastjbeyond  the  Paucartambo,  were  many 
savage  forest  tribes  known  collectively  as  Anti,  the 
Chuncho,  Moxo,  etc.  ;  while  along  the  coast  the  valleys 
were  peopled  by  a  people  of  high  culture  to  whom  was 
asssigned  the  general  name  Yunca.  To  the  four  quarters 
of  the  empire  as  it  grew  the  four  following  names  were 
given  :  to  the  south  and  south-east,  Colla-suyu  ;  to  the 
east  and  north-east,  Anti-suyu;  to  the  north  and  north- 
west, Chinchay-suyu  ;  and  to  the  west  and  south-west, 
Conde-suyu. 

At  the  time  when  Pizarro  entered  the  Peruvian 
Empire,  the  Inca  had  evolved,  if  not  a  civilization,  at 
least  a  very  magnificent  barbarism  ;  their  empire  was 
well  organized  and  governed  according  to  a  traditional 
code  of  laws,  the  various  provinces  were  administered 
by  a  hierarchy  of  officials  who  collected  tribute  and  ad- 
ministered justice,  and  large  armies  could  quickly  be 
raised  and  maintained  on  lengthy  campaigns  in  any  part 
of  the  dominion.  It  is  not  surprising,  therefore,  in  spite 
of  the  fact  that  no  form  of  writing  was  known,  that  the 
people  capable  of  such  political  organization  had  pre- 
served in  traditional  form  much  of  their  early  history. 
Feats  of  memory  which  seem  almost  miraculous  to  civi- 
lized races,  who  have  become  dependent  upon  written 
records,  have  been  chronicled  of  several  peoples  below 
the  Peruvians  in  the  scale  of  culture.  The  nobility 
among  the  Polynesians  received  regular  instruction  in 
their  past  history,  and  the  chiefs  could  repeat  long  gen- 
ealogies which  had  been  faithfully  handed  down  from 
generation  to  generation.  Even  among  African  races 
traditional  records  are  not  unknown,  and  in  one  case  a 
list  of  over  one  hundred  chiefs,  together  with  many 
historical  details,  has  been  recently  obtained  from  a  tribe 
in  the  heart  of  the  southern  Belgian  Congo.  The 
Peruvians  were  aided  in  this  respect  by  an  elaborate 


PLATE    ]'I1 


ECUADOR 

1.  Pottery  Brazier:  Esmeraldas 

2.  EMBossEn  copper  disc  :  Maxabi 

3.  Pottery  Figure  :  Esmeraldas 


PERU 
Amtent  Polyc.onai.  Masonry:  Crzco 

(Front  Wright's  "  Old  and  \fw  Peru."  hy  /uriii'ssion  0/  Messrs.  Harry  £-=  Sons) 


THE   PERUVIAN   EMPIRE  ^^ 

system  of  knotted  cords,  which  to  some  extent  took  the 
place  of  writing,  and  many  details  of  past  history  were 
collected  by  the  early  travellers  and  explorers  from 
natives  of  high  standing  who  were  acquainted  with  the 
traditions  of  their  race.  These  accounts  have  been  so 
ably  collated  and  so  graphically  set  forth  in  a  recent 
work  by  Sir  Clements  Markham,  whose  knowledge  of 
the  literarysourcesofPeruvian  history  is  unrivalled,  that 
it  is  almost  an  impertinence  on  the  part  of  the  writer  of 
this  book  to  attempt  a  similar  task.  However,  for  the 
sake  of  completeness  some  sketch  of  the  growth  of  the 
Inca  Empire  is  necessary,  and  those  who  desire  a  more 
detailed  account  more  graphically  told  will  find  it  in  the 
book  above  mentioned. 

Our  view  of  the  history  of  Peru  must  inevitably  be 
coloured  by  the  degree  of  authenticity  which  we  as- 
sign to  the  writings  of  Montesinos.  While  nearly 
all  of  the  early  writers  give  a  list  of  twelve  or  thirteen 
sovereigns,  Montesinos  records  about  one  hundred. 
For  a  long  time  it  was  believed  that  his  account  was  of 
no  value,  and  it  was  attributed  to  an  indiscriminating 
credulity  or  a  fertile  imagination.  But  quite  recently 
evidence  has  been  brought  to  show  that  his  list  may 
have  been  copied  from  the  work  of  Bias  Valera,  a 
chronicler,  quoted  extensively  by  Garcilasso,  whose 
writings,  believed  to  have  been  lost,  were  universally 
recognized  as  evidence  of  the  greatest  value.  As  will 
be  seen,  the  archaeology  of  Peru  supports  the  theory 
that  an  extensive  empire  existed  in  days  long  prior  to 
the  first  Inca  of  the  shorter  list,  but  it  seems  strange 
that  Garcilasso,  who  had  access  to  the  manuscript  of 
Valera,  should  have  made  no  allusion  to  the  earlier 
rulers.  Most  of  the  chroniclers,  including  Monte- 
sinos, start  their  history  with  the  same  myth,  which 
will  be  related  immediately,  and  nearly  all  of  them  give 
the  last  twelve  sovereigns  in  the  same  order.  It  seems 
possible  that  these  later  rulers  alone  bore  the  title  of 


78     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

Inca,  and  that  the  earlier  kings  of  Montesinos,  if  his 
list  be  accepted,  were  known  by  other  titles.  The  Inca 
proper  were  as  follows  : — 

1.  Sinchi  Rocca.  7.  Uiracocha. 

2.  Lloque  Yupanqui.  8.  Pachacuti. 

3.  Mayta  Ccapac.  9.  Tupac  Yupanqui. 

4.  Ccapac  Yupanqui.  lo.  Huayna  Ccapac. 

5.  Rocca.  II.  Huascar. 

6.  Yahuarhuaccac.  12.  Atahualpa  (usurped). 
Garcilasso  (and  also  Betanzos  and  Velasco)  gives  one 
more,  inserting  a  ruler  named  Yupanqui  between 
Pachacuti  (8)  and  Tupac  Yupanqui  (9),  but  it  is  be- 
lieved that  this  Yupanqui  was  the  ruler  who  appears 
both  in  his  list  and  elsewhere  as  Pachacuti  (the  word 
Pachacuti  itself  not  being  a  name,  but  a  title  meaning 
"  Reformer  "),  and  that  the  deeds  attributed  to  him 
must  be  shared  between  the  two  Inca  mentioned. 

The  myth,  with  which  most  authors  preface  their  ac- 
counts of  the  history,  deals  with  the  settlement  in  the 
Cuzco  valley  of  a  group  of  people  destined  eventually  to 
become  the  rulers  of  the  whole  of  Peru.  There  are 
several  versions  of  the  myth,  all  differing  slightly  in 
details,  according  to  the  section  of  the  people  from 
whom  they  were  respectively  obtained,  but  the  most 
extended  account  is  as  follows.  Southward  of  Cuzco 
is  a  place  called  Paccari-tampu  ("  House  of  the  Dawn"), 
where  rises  a  hill,  called  Tampu-tocco  ("  House  of 
Windows  "),  which  contains  certain  caves.  From  these 
caves  issued  a  number  of  people  led  by  four  brothers 
all  bearing  the  title  of  Ayar,  and  named  respectively 
Manco,  Cachi  (Salt),  Uchu  (Pepper),  and  Auca  (Plea- 
sure). They  were  accompanied  by  four  sisters,  all  en- 
titled Mama  (Mother), and  named  Occlo,  Huaco,  Cura, 
and  Raua.  Of  these,  the  eldest  brother  Manco  was 
the  ruler,  his  power  being  based  on  the  possession  of 
a  fetish  in  the  form  of  a  bird  called  Inti  (Sun),  which 
was  kept  in  a  basket  and  which  was  supposed  to  act  as 
his  supernatural  adviser.     This  group  of  eight  indi- 


THE   PERUVIAN   EMPIRE  79 

viduals,  by  laying  claim  to  divine  descent  (from  the 
Sun)  obtained  the  leadership  over  ten  tribes  who  dwelt 
in  the  neighbourhood,  and,  finding  the  country  com- 
paratively sterile,  started  with  their  followers  on  a 
migration  farther  north.  Manco,  the  leader,  carried 
a  golden  staff  which,  it  was  prophesied,  would  sink  in- 
to the  earth  at  the  spot  destined  by  fate  for  their  future 
home.  This  staff  was  probably  merely  an  implement 
for  testing  the  depth  of  the  soil,  and  thereby  affording  an 
indication  of  its  agricultural  quality.  The  journey 
proceeded  by  slow  degrees,  the  travellers  making  fre- 
quent halts  to  sow  and  reap  the  harvest ;  but  it  was  not 
without  incident.  Apparently  Manco  became  jealous 
of  his  brothers,  and  took  means  to  remove  them,  but 
the  account  of  their  fate  has  become  invested  with  the 
glamour  of  the  supernatural.  Ayar  Cachi  was  persuaded 
to  return  for  certain  golden  vases  and  the  figure  of  a 
llama,  the  latter  being  a  kind  of  sacred  standard,  which 
he  was  told  had  been  left  in  a  cave.  As  soon  as  he 
entered  the  cave  to  search, his  faithless  companion  rolled 
a  great  rock  up  to  the  entrance,  and  Cachi  perished, 
the  traitor  himself  being  turned  to  stone.  Uchu,  in  the 
course  of  their  wanderings,  was  told  to  seize  a  stone 
figure  which  was  found  upon  a  hill ;  to  do  this  he  leaped 
upon  its  back,  but  was  himself  turned  tostone.  The  place 
where  this  occurred,  called  Huanacauri,  was  thencefor- 
ward regardedas  one  of  the  most  sacred  in  Peru, and  was 
the  scene  of  the  Huarachicu  ceremony,  to  be  described 
later,  at  which  the  young  knights  were  initiated.  Ayar 
Auca  was  the  last  to  perish  ;  he  had  developed  wings, 
and  when  the  travellers  came  in  sight  of  their  promised 
land,  his  brother  bade  him  fly  to  the  top  of  the  hill,  where 
afterwards  stood  the  great  Sun-temple,  and  take  posses- 
sion. This  he  did,  but  the  action  was  fatal  to  him,  for  he 
forthwith  became  a  stone.  The  others  followed ;  the  test 
of  the  golden  staff  was  applied  and  found  satisfactory, 
and  Cuzco  was  founded. 


8o     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

The  account  is  particularly  interesting  as  giving 
many  indications  of  the  worship  of  stones  which, 
though  to  some  extent  eclipsed  by  the  official  Sun-cult 
of  the  Inca,  prevailed  generally  throughout  Peru  and 
was  of  the  greatest  local  importance.  It  appears  that 
the  Cuzco  valley  at  this  time  was  not  without  inhabit- 
ants, but  the  immigrants  no  doubt  mustered  a  company 
sufficiently  large  to  make  their  settlement  good.  The 
tribes  which  they  found  in  the  neighbourhood  were 
gradually  incorporated,  partly  by  diplomacy  (and  in 
this  respect  the  claim  of  the  leader  to  divine  descenl 
must  have  stood  him  in  good  stead),  partly  by  actua 
warfare,  and  at  the  death  of  Manco  the  immigrants 
were  paramount  in  the  district.  As  stated  above,  nearly 
all  the  accounts  commence  with  some  version  of  this 
story,  but  while  the  majority  proceed  immediately 
to  the  reign  of  Sinchi  Rocca,  representing  him  to  be 
the  son  of  Manco,  that  of  Montesinos  furnishes  a  list 
of  some  ninety  rulers  before  that  prince  is  reached.  It 
is  impossible,  in  view  of  the  recent  attempt  to  prove 
the  authenticity  of  this  author's  account,  to  neglect  it 
entirely  ;  no  doubt  many  of  the  incidents  belong  more 
properly  to  the  later  history,  and  it  seems  in  some  cases 
as  if  Montesinos  had  duplicated  certain  events,  assign- 
ing them  in  modified  form  both  to  the  early  period 
and  what  may  be  called  the  Inca  period  proper  ;  but  a 
short  sketch  of  the  events  as  chronicled  by  him  will  be 
useful  as  throwing  a  little  light  upon  the  archaeology 
which  will  be  discussed  later.  The  first  few  reigns 
were  dedicated  to  the  expansion  of  Cuzco  domination 
within  the  valley  ;  the  city  was  built  in  stone,  and  a 
number  of  immigrants  from  the  south  were  Incor- 
porated in  the  tribe.  Hostilities  with  neighbours  re- 
sulted in  the  capture  of  the  third  ruler's  heir,  but  the 
child  was  afterwards  restored,^  and  the  new  settlement 

1  This  story  is  related  by  certain  authors  in  connection  with  the 
sixth  ruler  of  the  later  list  when  a  child  (see  p.  90). 


THE   PERUVIAN   EMPIRE  8i 

was  threatened  by  no  actual  danger  until  two  power- 
ful chiefs  of  Andahuaylas,  to  the  west  of  the  Cuzco 
valley,  attacked  Cuzco  and  nearly  succeeded  in  captur- 
ing it.  This  episode  is  the  important  Chanca  rebel- 
lion attributed  by  other  authors,  and  again  by  Mon- 
tesinos  himself,  to  later  times.  The  conquest  of 
Andahuaylas  opened  a  wide  sphere  to  the  new-comers  ; 
the  foundation  of  provincial  government  was  laid,  the 
building  of  great  roads  commenced,  and  we  are  even 
told  of  an  expedition  to  Tucuman,  though  the  con- 
quest of  the  intervening  country  was  not  an  accom- 
plished fact  until  somewhat  later.  In  the  reign  of  the 
twelfth  ruler  we  have  an  echo  of  the  coming  of  the 
giants  and  the  people  of  Lambayeque,  related  in  the 
last  chapter  ;  many  tribes,  coming  by  sea,  arrived  upon 
the  coast,  from  Manabi  to  Pachacamac,  where  they 
built  the  famous  temple  ;  and  we  are  told  of  a  projected 
expedition  against  the  people  of  Truxillo. 

Aboutthenineteenth  ruler  achangeof  dynastyappears 
to  have  taken  place ;  from  henceforward  a  new  title, 
Amauta,  frequently  appears,  and  many  of  the  chiefs  are 
distinguished  as  skilful  astrologers  and  reformers  of  the 
calendar.  It  would  seem  almost  as  if  a  priestly  dynasty, 
similar  to  that  of  the  Magi,  had  succeeded  in  seizing  the 
throne,  and  the  worship  of  Uiracocha,  hitherto  the  state 
religion,  was  eclipsed  by  the  cult  of  the  heavenly  bodies. 
About  this  time  the  first  indications  of  religious  wars 
appear,  in  the  shape  of  a  projected  invasion  of  the  coast, 
where  doctrines  subversive  of  the  Cuzco  cult  prevailed. 
The  first  signs,  too,of  the  cataclysm,  which  was  destined 
to  overwhelm  the  old  empire,  may  be  seen  in  attacks 
made  by  the  peoples  of  Tucuman  and  Chile ;  but  the 
time  was  not  yet,  the  invasions  were  successfully  re- 
pulsed, and  the  bounds  of  empire  were  extended  as  far 
north  as  Huanuco,  where  a  fortress  was  built.  The 
extent  of  this  early  empire,  according  to  Montesinos,  is 
shown  in  Fig.  7,  a ;  in  a  later  passage  he  implies  that 

G 


82     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

it  extended  as  far  as  Quito.  However,  the  end  came  at 
last,  in  the  sixty-fourth  reign.  A  general  invasion  was 
made  by  the  peoples  on  the  east,  south  and  west,  and  the 
subject  tribes  rose  in  revolt.  The  invaders  ultimately 
retired,  but  the  powerof  Cuzco  was  broken, and  the  ruler 
slain  ;  the  city  was  left  to  the  priests,  and  the  inhabitants 
under  a  new  sovereign  took  refuge  at  Tampu-tocco,  the 
place  of  their  origin.  So  complete  an  overthrow  of  the 
empire  seems  almost  inexplicable  unless  it  be  imagined 
that  the  general  uprising  was  the  result  of  too  drastic 
action  on  the  part  of  the  Amauta  dynasty  in  forcing  an 
unwelcome  cult  upon  their  subjects.  Possibly  they  had 
tried  to  eradicate  the  various  local  forms  of  worship,  and 
had  instituted  a  religious  persecution  to  which  the 
empire  could  not  submit.  Hence  the  general  exodus  to 
Tampu-tocco  under  a  new  leader.  Indications  of  some 
such  religious  persecution  are  not  wanting  in  the  account 
of  Montesinos.  It  is  interesting  to  note  in  passing  that 
according  to  this  author  a  form  of  writing  on  banana- 
leaves  and  stones  had  long  been  practised,  but  became 
obsolete  under  the  rulers  of  Tampu-tocco,  and  the 
system  of  quipus,  or  knotted  cords,  as  a  means  of  re- 
cording figures  and  facts,  was  invented  under  the  thir- 
teenth of  these  chiefs.  Twenty-four  princes  ruled  in  suc- 
cession over  the  small  state  of  Tampu-tocco,  and  their 
reigns  were  marked  by  very  few  events  of  importance. 
It  is  said  that  the  seventh  desired  to  rebuild  Cuzco,  but 
his  religious  advisers  dissuaded  him.  The  first  indica- 
tions of  recuperation  made  their  appearance  in  the  reign 
of  the  tenth  chieftain,  who  collected  a  large  army,  but 
diedbeforehecouldmakeany  useofit,anditwasnotuntil 
the  thirteenth  that  a  few  of  the  provinces  of  the  old 
empire  were  again  reduced  to  submission.  But  at  length, 
in  the  reign  of  the  twenty-fourth  ruler,  occurred  events 
which  brought  about  a  change  of  dynasty  and  marked 
the  commencement  of  the  rise  of  the  later  Inca  empire. 
By  this  time  the  provinces  once  under  the  sway  of  the 


THE   PERUVIAN   EMPIRE 


83 


84     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

princes  of  Cuzco  had  relapsed  into  barbarism,  the  early 
religion  had  been  overgrown  and  stifled  by  local  cults, 
and  vice  was  rampant.  But  the  memory  of  their  early 
glories  was  cherished  by  a  number  of  the  members  of 
the  former  ruling  family.  One  of  these,  a  woman 
of  high  birth  named  Siyu-Yacu,  with  the  assistance 
of  her  son  and  sister,  contrived  a  plot  to  subvert  the 
present  dynasty  and  to  place  on  the  throne  one  who 
would  initiate  a  bold  attempt  to  recover  the  power 
once  possessed  by  their  forefathers.  The  individual 
selected  was  Siyu- Yacu's  own  son,  Rocca,  who,  as  events 
showed,  was  a  man  of  singular  capacity.  Along  garment, 
covered  with  plates  of  gold,  was  prepared  for  him,  and 
he  was  secreted  in  a  cavern,  known  as  Chingana,  in  the 
Sacsahuaman  hilloverlooking  Cuzco.  The  persons  privy 
to  the  plot  then  spread  the  report  that  the  youth  had  been 
carried  oflT  by  the  Sun  in  order  to  receive  supernatural 
instruction,  but  would  return  ere  long  to  rule  as  a 
divine  king  over  the  people.  On  the  fourth  day  at  noon 
a  glittering  figure  appeared  in  full  view  of  the  populace 
at  the  mouth  of  the  cave  ;  it  vanished  again,  but  the 
vision  was  sufficient  to  arouse  the  greatest  excitement 
and  to  win  full  credence  for  the  story  told  by  the  plotters. 
A  few  days  afterwards  the  vision  again  appeared,  and 
the  crowd  rushing  up  the  hill-side  discovered  Rocca  in 
his  golden  garb,  who  told  them  that  he  bore  a  message 
from  the  Sun.  Conducted  to  the  temple  he  explained 
to  the  assembled  people  that  all  their  misfortunes  had 
fallen  upon  them  owing  to  the  wrath  of  the  Sun  at  the 
corruption  of  theirreligion.  Let  them  reform,  and  under 
his  leadership,  the  adopted  son  of  the  Sun  himself,  their 
old  power  should  be  restored  to  them  and  peace  and 
prosperity  return.  Fullofenthusiasm  the  people  shouted 
their  assent,  and  Rocca  was  proclaimed  ruler. 

From  this  point  the  history  of  Montesinos  is  more  or 
less  in  accord  with  that  of  the  other  chroniclers,  but,  be- 
fore proceeding,  attention  may  be  called  to  a  few  points 


THE   PERUVIAN  EMPIRE  85 

raised  by  the  account  given  in  outline  above.  It  is  said 
that  the  chief  deity  worshipped  by  the  immigrants  was  a 
godofthename  ofUiracocha,at  oncean  elemental  nature- 
god  and  a  culture  hero.  He  was  the  god  of  the  people  as 
a  whole,  revered  by  all  alike,  but  there  were  many  other 
minor  deities  reverenced  by  different  tribes,  by  sections 
of  the  tribe,  and  even  by  separate  families  ;  these  were 
usually  various  natural  objects,  stones,  lakes,  animals, 
and  the  like,  called  by  the  general  name  of  huaca^  from 
which  in  many  cases  the  worshippers  claimed  common 
descent.  In  this  way  the  members  of  the  ruling  family 
appear  to  have  practised  a  cult  of  the  Sun,  averring  that 
they  were  his  children,  and  it  was  only  natural  that  the 
cult  of  the  ruling  house  should,  as  time  went  on,  acquire 
considerable  importance.  Its  importance  would  be  in- 
creased by  the  construction  of  a  large  Sun-temple  in  the 
capital  city,and  the  establishment  of  a  special  priesthood, 
until  finally  it  came  to  be  the  official  religion  and  began  to 
eclipse  the  original  worship  of  Uiracocha.  Whether  the 
Sun-priesthood  acquired  such  an  ascendancy  that  it  was 
actually  able  to  place  one  of  its  members  on  the  throne 
is  uncertain,  but  at  any  rate  it  became  sufficiently  power- 
ful to  inaugurate  a  religious  persecution  of  the  huaca 
and  their  worshippers,  especially  of  the  cults  of  a  like 
nature  which  had  begun  to  spread  inland  from  the  coast. 
But  the  empire  was  yet  too  young,  and  the  bonds  which 
held  it  too  loose,  to  stand  the  strain  of  bitter  religious 
dissension,  and  the  result  was  fatal.  The  transference 
of  the  civil  power  to  Tampu-tocco  hints  at  a  revival  of 
Uiracocha  worship,  and  a  temporary  eclipse  of  the  Sun- 
cult,  which,  however,  still  continued  to  be  practised  at 
Cuzco.  Though  Montesinos  says  nothing  of  the  early 
steps  by  which  this  city  began  to  regain  its  former  im- 
portance, yet  it  is  evident  that  it  was  in  a  fairly  flourish- 
ing condition  by  the  time  thatSiyu-Yacu  made  her  great 
coup  (Tetafy  for  the  scene  of  action  was  the  city  itself,  and 
the  population  was  evidently  strong  enough  in  numbers 


86     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

to  support  the  new  ruler,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  the 
country  to  the  south  refused  to  recognize  him. 

To  turn  now  to  the  history  of  Rocca  and  his  succes- 
sors, it  has  been  said  above  that  Montesinos  alone  tells 
the  story  of  the  plot  by  which  he  obtained  the  throne  ; 
the  other  chroniclers  regard  him  as  the  son  of  Manco 
and  imply  that  his  claim  to  power  was  based  on  here- 
ditary right,  but  they  do  not  agree  in  the  accounts  which 
they  give  of  his  reign.    In  fact,  though  nearly  all  the  au- 
thorities are  in  agreement  respecting  the  course  of  events 
which  go  to  the  making  of  Inca  history,. they  are  by  no 
means  unanimous  respecting  the  reigns  in  which  these 
events  occurred  ;  furthermore  the  accounts  of  many  of 
the  writers  are  strongly  coloured  by  the  individual  pre- 
judices of  the  respective  authors.     Thus  the  half-caste 
historian  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega  is  actuated  throughout 
by   the  desire,  praiseworthy   in   itself,   to   depict  his 
mother's  people  in  the  most  favourable  colours.     Ac- 
cording to  him,  the  Inca  were  influenced  by  the  noblest 
motives  in  their  work  of  empire-building,  each  war  is 
shown  in  the  light  of  a  crusade  to  spread  good  govern- 
ment and  a  spiritual  religion  among  less  enlightened 
tribes  ;  forcible  measures  were  only  employed  in  the 
last  resort  when  long  and  patient  negotiation  had  failed ; 
the  people  loved  and  trusted  the  Inca  whose  rule  was 
wise  and  beneficent,  and  who  lived  blameless  lives  in 
the  full   recognition  of  the   responsibilities   of  their 
position.     Sarmiento  de  Gamboa,  on  the  other  hand, 
whose  history  bears  the  stamp  of  authority,  in  so  far  as 
it  was  collected  from  a  council  of  high  dignitaries,  all 
of  whom  deposed  to  the  correctness  of  the  information 
which  they  contributed,  gives  quite  a  different  picture. 
In  his  work  the  Inca  appear  as  greedy  beyond  all  else 
of  power,  and  unscrupulous  in  the  methods  by  which 
they  obtained  it  ;  their  wars  were  wars  of  aggression 
pure  and  simple,  and  they  welcomed  any  pretext,  no 
matter  how  flimsy,  for  extending  their  sway  by  forcible 


PLATE    VI I J 


KCUAUOK  AMI   I'EKU 

I,  2.  Vasics  :  The  IIkwii.am  s,   Kcuadok 

3.  \'ase  :  Peru 

4.  s.  6-  VVoonEN  CARVINGS:  Macaiu  Isi.an'ds 

(Scale:    I-3,  1/9TII  ;  4-6,   1/51H) 


THE   PERUVIAN   EMPIRE  87 

means  ;  towards  their  subjects  they  were  cruel  and  un- 
merciful, holding  them  fettered  in  the  bonds  of  a  miser- 
able oppression.  Sarmiento's  aim  was  to  prove  that 
the  Inca  were  cruel  tyrants  who  abused  the  power  which 
they  had  unj  ustly  usurped,  and  thereby  to  invest  the  con- 
quering Spaniard  with  the  halo  of  a  liberator,  an  attempt 
which,  viewed  from  the  standpoint  of  the  present  day, 
is  not  without  a  certain  humour  of  a  rather  grim  nature. 
Between  these  two  extremes  the  truth  must  lie,  and  to 
judge  from  the  accounts  of  other  historians  and  wit- 
nesses, some  of  whom  even,  to  their  subsequent  repent- 
ance, had  taken  part  in  the  oppression  which  followed 
the  overthrow  of  the  Inca  kingdom,  it  lies  in  this  re- 
spect nearer  to  Garcilasso  than  to  Sarmiento.  No  doubt 
the  Inca,  as  the  Spaniards  themselves,  used  the  name  of 
religion  as  a  pretext  for  extending  their  power,  but  the 
power  once  gained  was  not  abused,  and  the  laws  by 
which  they  governed,  though  strict,  were  not  unneces- 
sarily harsh,  and  were  well  suited  to  the  psychology  cf 
their  subjects. 

One  of  the  firstacts  of  Rocca  was  toenlarge  the  temple 
of  the  Sun,  the  famous  Curicancha,  and  to  inaugurate 
certain  improvements  in  the  city,  notably  the  filling  up 
of  a  swamp.  As  to  the  question  whether  he  attempted 
to  extend  his  sway  by  external  conquest,  historians  differ. 
The  majority  represent  this  Inca,  and  also  his  two  suc- 
cessors,as confining  themselves  moreorless  totheCuzco 
valley,  and  gradually,  by  diplomatic  means,  extending 
their  influence  over  the  surrounding  inhabitants. 

Garcilasso,  however,  makes  the  expansion  of  Inca 
power  far  more  rapid.  Sinchi  Rocca,  indeed,  according 
to  him,  employed  peaceful  rather  than  warlike  methods 
(a  fact  which  is  rather  surprising,  since  the  title  Sinchi 
was  that  given  to  war-chiefs),  but  his  successor,  Lloque 
Yupanqui, obtained  thesubmissionof  theCanaand  Colla 
people  to  the  south-east,  and  even  built  a  Sun-temple 
at  Hatun-Colla,  the  chief  city  of  the  latter  district.  Nor 


88     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

did  his  successes  stop  there;  another  expedition  added 
the  tribes  of  the  west  shore  of  lake  Titicaca,  and  some 
ofthose  on  the  Desaguadero  river,  to  the  growing  empire, 
as  well  as  certain  of  the  peoples  dwelling  to  the  west- 
ward, as  far  as  the  foot  of  the  snowy  range  dividing  the 
inland  country  from  the  plains  of  the  coast.  The  next 
Inca,  Mayta  Ccapac,  showed  equal  energy;  proceeding 
with  an  army  to  the  Desaguadero  river,  he  crossed  the 
stream  by  means  of  a  bridge  of  boats,  and,  after  a  great 
battle  with  the  CoUa  to  the  east,  subdued  the  country 
as  far  as  lake  Aullagas  to  the  south,  and  the  region  of 
La  Paz  to  the  east.  Nor  was  he  content  merely  to  follow 
in  the  footsteps  of  his  predecessor;  the  mighty  gorge 
which  confines  the  waters  of  the  Apurimac  to  the  south- 
west of  Cuzco  was  spanned  with  a  bridge,  a  great  marsh 
beyond  the  Chumpivilca  people  was  crossed  by  means 
of  a  causeway,  and  the  Inca  army  pursued  its  way  vic- 
torious to  lake  Parinacochas  and  thence  on  to  Arequipa 
(see  Fig  7,  b).  So  far  Garcilasso  ;  but  other  authors  give 
no  indication  of  operations  outside  the  Cuzco  valley 
(with  the  exception  of  a  foray  into  Andahuaylas,  men- 
tioned by  Montesinos)  until  the  reign  of  Ccapac 
Yupanqui,  the  successor  of  Mayta  Ccapac,  though  Cieza 
states  that  the  latter  prince  died  when  he  was  making 
preparations  for  an  expedition  to  the  south-west.  But 
with  regard  to  Ccapac  Yupanqui,  the  fourth  ruler,  all 
the  historians  agree  in  making  the  region  to  the  south- 
west of  Cuzco,  Condesuyu,  the  main  scene  of  his  mili- 
tary operations,  though  Garcilasso  credits  him  with 
further  conquests  in  the  south-east  also,  as  far  as  Potosi. 
His  account  would  seem  to  show  that  hitherto  there 
had  been  no  real  conquest  of  the  CoUao,  but  that  the 
Inca  had  been  content  to  make  incursions,  which 
amounted  to  little  more  than  military  displays,  into  the 
country,  and  to  accept  a  nominal  submission.  But  this 
time  an  opportunity  occurred  for  a  more  vigorous  policy 
and  the  history  of  the  campaign  affords  an  excellent  illus- 


THE   PERUVIAN   EMPIRE  89 

tration  of  the  methods  by  which  the  Inca  were  able  to 
add  large  regions  to  the  territory  they  had  already 
acquired,  and  explains  the  rapidity  with  which  their 
empire  grew.  As  might  be  expected  the  people  of  Cuzco 
were  not  the  only  tribe  to  form  the  nucleusof  aconfedera- 
tion,  nor  were  the  Inca  the  only  chiefs  who  cherished 
dreams  of  empire.  In  the  Collao  to  the  south-west  a 
chief  of  the  name  or  title  of  Zapana  had  in  early  times 
united  a  number  of  tribes  under  his  sway,  and  his  suc- 
cessors, ruling  at  Hatun-colla,  had  maintained  the  power 
which  he  had  gained.  At  last  a  rival  chief  arose,  of  the 
name  of  Cari,  who  established  himself  at  Chucuito  on  the 
western  bank  of  lake  Titicaca  and  made  many  success- 
ful raids  upon  the  surrounding  country,  including  the 
islands  of  the  lake.  The  Zapana  of  the  time  tried  in  vain 
to  reduce  the  upstart,  but  without  success,  and  finally 
both  parties  appealed  to  the  Inca  for  assistance.  Gar- 
cilasso  and  Cieza  give  rather  different  accounts  of  sub- 
sequent events,  but  the  account  of  Cieza  seems  the  more 
probable.  According  to  this,  the  Inca  with  considerable 
skill  played  off  one  claimant  against  the  other,  and 
finally,  when  both  sides  were  weakened,  stepped  in  and 
annexed  the  whole  territory.  By  this  means  a  large 
region  already  accustomed  to  imperial  rule  was  added 
to  the  Inca  dominions.  Whether  these  events  occurred 
in  the  reign  of  Ccapac  Yupanqui,  as  Garcilasso  avers, 
or  two  reigns  later  under  Uiracocha,  according  to  Cieza, 
is  not  of  great  importance;  the  chief  point  to  be  noted 
is  that  the  conquest  of  the  Collao  preceded  the  Chanca 
invasion  which  so  nearly  destroyed  the  Inca  empire.^ 
The  fifth  Inca,  Rocca,  is  said  to  have  improved  the 
water-supply  of  Cuzco,  and  to  have  founded  schools  for 
the  education  of  children  of  high  birth.  He  also  under- 
took an  expedition  to  the  Collao,  reaching,  according  to 

^  The  official  history  of  Sarmiento,  it  is  true,  places  the  Colla  con- 
quest after  the  repulse  of  the  Chanca,  but  for  reasons  which  will  appear 
later  this  does  not  seem  so  probable. 


90     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

Garcilasso,  as  far  as  Sucre ;  and  the  same  author  credits 
him  with  penetrating  to  the  Amazonian  forests  on  the 
north-east,  and  with  extracting  an  unwilling  and,  as 
events  proved,  utterly  insincere  submission  from  certain 
of  the  Chanca  on  the  west.  A  most  romantic  story  is 
told  by  Sarmiento  of  his  son  and  successor  Yahuar- 
huaccac ;  the  name  of  this  prince  means  "  Weeping 
blood,"and  is  explained  by  the  following  incident.  When 
quite  achild  hewas  kidnapped  byadisaffcctedchief  of  the 
Ayamarca  to  the  south-west  of  Cuzco,  who  had  desired 
to  marry  his  mother.  His  cruel  captor  ordered  him  to 
be  killed,  but  the  child,  appalled  at  the  prospect  of  im- 
mediate death,  wept  tears  of  blood  and  prophesied  ruin 
and  disaster  for  his  would-be  murderers.  The  chief  was 
alarmed,  and  spared  his  life,  but  sent  him  to  a  desolate 
spot  to  tend  llamas  in  the  care  of  a  body  of  shepherds, 
from  whom  he  eventually  made  his  escape.  This  story 
is  told  by  Montesinos  of  the  fourth  chief  of  his  early 
list,  and  denied  altogether  by  Garcilasso,  who  credits 
Yahuarhuaccac  with  the  conquest  of  the  coast  region 
from  Arequipa  to  Atacama. 

The  seventh  Inca  was  Uiracocha,  whom  Cieza  regards 
as  the  conqueror  of  the  Collao,  and  at  this  point  the 
subject  of  the  Chanca  invasion  arises.  Concurrently 
with  the  empires  of  the  Inca  and  of  Zapana  in  the  south, 
a  very  important  confederation  had  been  formed  to  the 
north-west  and  west  of  Cuzco.  The  Chanca  people, 
under  two  chiefs  named  Uscovilca  and  Ancovilca,  had 
extended  their  sway  over  a  number  of  tribes,  and  their 
descendants  had  become  masters  of  an  empire  which 
probably  rivalled  in  extent  that  of  the  Inca.  For  some 
time  there  had  been  a  gradually  increasing  friction  be- 
tween the  two  powers ;  the  Inca  had  extorted  an  unwill- 
ing submission  from  some  of  the  Chanca  towns,  and 
the  Chanca  had  made  attempts  to  subdue  the  small 
Quichua  people,  who  looked  to  the  Inca  for  protection. 
Suddenly  matters  came  to  a  head,  and  the  Chanca  con- 


THE   PERUVIAN   EMPIRE  91 

federacy,  led  by  two  brothers,  Asto-huaraca  and  Tomay- 
huaraca,  hurled  its  united  forces  against  Cuzco.  Garci- 
lasso  and  Montesinos  statethat  the  invasion  took  placeat 
the  end  of  the  reign  of  Yahuarhuaccac,  Sarmiento  in  the 
reign  ofhis  successor  Uiracocha,andCieza  in  the  reign  of 
Uiracocha's  incompetent  son  Urco.  Except  Cieza  none 
of  the  chroniclers  admit  that  Urco  ever  wore  the  royal 
fringe,  though  Sarmiento  says  that  Uiracocha  intended 
him  as  his  successor.  But  all  give  the  same  account  of  the 
war.  The  extent  of  the  Inca  empire  at  this  period  accord- 
ing to  Garcilasso  and  Cieza  respectively  is  shown  in  Fig. 
7,  c.  The  Chanca  host  advanced  rapidly,  and  practically 
without  opposition, tothevery  gatesof  Cuzco ;  thereign- 
inglncafled;  and  had  itnot  beenfor  thesteadfastcourage 
of  his  ultimate  successor  (according  to  the  one  account 
Uiracocha,  according  to  the  other  Pachacuti,  the  eighth 
ruler),  the  Inca  domination  would  have  been  extin- 
guished. This  prince,  aided  by  a  few  of  his  relations  and 
some  of  the  more  stout-hearted  generals,  rallied  the 
panic-stricken  people  and  prepared  a  desperate  resistance. 
He  was  supported  by  a  contingent  of  Quichua,but  many 
of  the  other  vassals,  who  had  been  hurriedly  summoned, 
waited  upon  the  surrounding  hills  to  see  which  way  the 
fortune  of  battle  would  incline  before  venturing  to  take 
part  in  the  struggle.  The  fight  commenced,  and  the 
Inca  troops  acquitted  themselves  so  well  that  they  were 
able  to  keep  the  foe  in  check  until  a  large  party,  detached 
forthepurpose  from  the  main  body, fell  upon  the  enemy's 
flank  and  threw  them  into  some  confusion.  The  hesi- 
tating vassals,  seeing  this,  seized  the  opportunity  to  cast 
their  lot  in  with  the  defenders,  and  the  result  was  the 
complete  rout  of  the  Chanca  host.  This  brilliant  victory 
was  ever  after  ascribed  to  the  direct  intervention  of  the 
god  Uiracocha,  who  was  said  to  have  transformed  stones 
into  warriors  to  assist  the  Inca  army,  and  great  honours 
were  paid  to  this  deity  after  the  battle.  This  point  is 
noteworthy,  for  Uiracocha  was  in  particular  the  god  of 


92     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

the  Collao,  and  the  honours  paid  to  him  were  probably 
in  recognition  of  the  fact  that  the  Colla  vassals  by  siding 
with  the  Inca  turned  the  scale;  had  they  joined  the  in- 
vaders it  seems  impossible  that  Cuzco  could  have  been 
preserved.  This  fact  seems  to  prove  that  the  Inca  had 
acquired  an  ascendancy  in  the  Collao  before  the  Chanca 
invasion.  Though  the  Chanca  and  the  Inca  were  bound 
at  some  period,  for  political  reasons,  to  come  to  grips, 
this  struggle  had  also  an  underlying  religious  signifi- 
cance. The  Chanca  and  their  allies  were  supporters  of 
the  low  form  of  huaca-worship  which  the  children  of  the 
Sun  were  continually  striving  to  suppress.  Excess  of 
zeal  in  this  direction  had  brought  about  the  fall  of  the 
early  empire,  and  the  later  rulers  showed  greater  diplo- 
macy. Provided  that  the  Sun  were  recognized  as  the 
chief  object  of  worship,  they  refrained  from  active  in- 
terference with  such  local  cults  as  did  not  involve  human 
sacrifice  and  vicious  practices,  and  it  seems  as  if  on  this 
occasion  by  a  timely  concession  the  supportof  the  Collao 
was  assured  now  and  for  the  future.  The  reigning  Inca 
who  deserted  the  city  was  held  by  that  act  to  have  ab- 
dicated the  throne,  and  the  prince  who  saved  the  for- 
tunes of  the  empire  assumed  the  insignia  of  power. 
There  is  little  profit  in  discussing  the  identity  of  this 
Inca.  Those  who  support  the  claims  of  Uiracocha  state 
that  he  adopted  the  name  of  the  god,  who  appeared  to 
him  in  a  vision,  predicting  the  onfall  of  the  Chanca  and 
promising  his  aid.  On  the  other  hand  there  is  the  point 
that  Pachacuti  bore  the  title  only  accorded  to  a  great 
reformer.  The  fact  remains  that  the  conquest  of  the 
Chanca  confederacy  added  to  the  Inca  empire  an  even 
greater  stretch  of  territory  on  the  west  and  north-west 
than  had  accrued  to  it  in  the  south  when  the  region 
ruled  by  the  Zapana  was  subdued.  The  sketch-map 
Fig.  7,  c  shows  the  extent  of  the  Inca  influence  at  the 
time  of  the  Chanca  invasion  as  given  respectively  by 
Garcilasso  and  Cieza  ;  while  Fig.  7,  ^  gives  the  limits 


THE   PERUVIAN   EMPIRE  93 

to  which  it  attained  under  Pachacuti.  In  looking  at 
these  it  must  be  remembered  that  the  hold  of  the  Inca 
onthecountrywestofCuzco  was  little  more  than  nominal 
until  after  the  conquest  of  the  Chanca,  which  followed 
immediately  upon  the  failure  of  their  invasion.  One 
of  the  effects  of  this  conquest  was  to  open  to  the  Inca 
the  road  to  the  coast,  with  the  result  that  after  a  sharp 
struggle  the  maritime  valleys  from  Arica  to  Truxillo 
were  added  to  the  empire.  Some  little  confusion  has 
resulted  from  the  fact  that  both  Pachacuti  and  his  war- 
like son  bore  the  same  name,  Yupanqui,  and  it  cannot 
be  said  for  certain  at  what  point  the  conquests  of  the 
one  ended  and  those  of  the  other  began  ;  but  the  matter 
is  of  little  consequence  ;  the  chief  point  of  interest  is 
that  in  the  course  of  three  reigns,  respectively  of  Pacha- 
cuti, Tupac  Yupanqui  and  Huayna  Ccapac,  the  Inca 
dominion  grew  from  a  comparatively  small  confedera- 
tion to  the  great  imperial  state  which  was  found  by  the 
Spaniards  (Fig.  7,  e).  Of  these  three  Inca,  Tupac  Yu- 
panqui was  not  the  true  heir  to  Pachacuti,  but  was 
selected  in  place  of  his  elder  brother,  Tupac  Amaru,  in 
consequence  of  his  ability  as  a  general.  Tupac  Amaru 
acquiesced  in  the  arrangement,  and  afterwards  served 
his  brother  faithfully  as  a  trusted  commander. 

However,  before  thecampaign  against  the  coastvalleys 
commenced,  important  events  had  occurred  in  the  south. 
The  chiefs  of  Tucuman  sent  ambassadors  offering  their 
homage,  and  friendly  relations  were  established  with  the 
people  of  Chile.  According  to  Cieza  no  actual  expedi- 
tion was  made  to  Tucuman  until  the  reign  of  Huayna 
Ccapac,  but  there  is  little  doubt  that  this  province  be- 
came part  of  the  Inca  empire.  Remains  of  Inca  type 
are  very  common  there,  and  the  ease  with  which  the 
region  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Spaniards,  as  compared 
with  the  neighbouring  districts  of  the  north-west  Argen- 
tine, can  only  be  explained  by  the  supposition  that  it 
was  fully  under  the  control  of  the  Inca,     As  regards 


94     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

Chile,  Montesinos  states  that  Yahuarhuaccac  had  mar- 
ried a  daughter  and  a  niece  to  two  Chilean  chiefs,  and 
that  their  children  came  to  pay  a  visit  to  their  uncle 
Uiracocha  after  he  had  become  Inca.  After  being  enter- 
tained with  lavish  hospitality,  they  returned  to  find  their 
country  in  a  state  of  rebellion.  They  appealed  to  the 
Inca  with  the  result  that  they  were  re-established  in  power, 
but  as  vassals  of  Cuzco. 

The  operations  in  the  north  and  west  were  more 
important ;  from  the  Chanca  country,  now  thoroughly 
reduced  to  submission,  a  slow  advance  was  made 
through  Xauxa,  Bonbon  and  Huanuco  as  far  as  Caxa- 
marca.  But  this  time  the  expeditions  were  no  mere 
military  demonstrations  ;  every  foot  of  the  ground 
traversed  was  assured  before  further  advance  was  made ; 
a  chain  of  fortresses  was  built,  and  a  great  road  con- 
structed which  ensured  the  possibility  of  rapid  com- 
munication. The  northward  advance  of  the  Inca  troops 
was  marked  by  an  interesting  occurrence.  The  con- 
quered Chanca  had  been  compelled  to  furnish  levies  for 
the  expedition,  and  a  part  of  their  forces  were  under  the 
command  of  a  chief  named  Hanco-huallu,  who  had  taken 
part  in  the  invasion  of  Cuzco  but  had  been  pardoned. 
This  chief  could  not  bear  the  subordinate  position  to 
which  he  was  now  reduced,  and,  with  a  large  number 
of  follov/ers,  fled  rapidly  in  a  northerly  direction,  cross- 
ing the  Andes  and  disappearing  in  the  forests  near  the 
Maranon. 

The  chief  of  the  Caxamarca  region  offered  the  most 
obstinate  resistance  to  the  Inca  forces,  and  here  the  latter 
came  into  collision  with  the  highly-cultured  people  of  the 
the  valleys  round  Truxillo,  who  came  to  the  assistance 
of  the  ruler  of  Caxamarca.  Once  in  possession  of  the 
strip  of  highlands  bordering  the  coastal  plains,  the  Inca 
next  proceeded  to  conquer  the  coast  itself.  This  was  a 
lengthy  and  difficult  task.  The  maritime  valleys  were 
inhabited  by  a  numerous  and  warlike  population  whose 


THE   PERUVIAN   EMPIRE  95 

culture,  in  some  respects,  surpassed  that  of  the  Inca,and 
the  hot  climate  of  the  coast  proved  insupportable  to  the 
invading  highlanders  for  any  length  of  time.  The  ques- 
tion of  religion  was  also  involved.  The  Sun,  whose 
worship  the  Inca  insisted  should  be  accepted,  was  no 
benefactor  to  the  coast-people,  whose  life  was  one  long 
struggleagainstdrought.  Butthelncawasfirm;  arrange- 
ments were  made  by  which  the  invading  troops  were 
relieved  every  few  months,  the  valleys  were  closely  in- 
vested, and  finally  the  sources  of  the  only  water-supply 
were  seized.  Rain  on  the  coast  was  a  phenomenon  of 
great  rarity, and  practically  the  only  water  came  from  the 
mountains.  By  means  of  a  wonderful  system  of  reser- 
voirs and  aqueducts  it  was  distributed  over  the  coasta 
districts,  and  large  tracts  of  what  had  been  uninhabitable 
desert  were  thus  brought  under  cultivation.  But  the 
very  engineering  skill,  which  enabled  the  coastal  tribes 
to  bring  their  water-supply  from  a  distance  inland,  con- 
tributed to  their  overthrow.  The  aqueducts  were  too 
long  to  admit  of  adequate  defence,  and,  as  soon  as  the 
upper  channels  fell  into  the  hands  of  a  foe,  the  choice 
lay  between  submission  on  the  one  hand  and  starvation 
on  the  other. 

The  habitable  valleys  of  the  coast  were  grouped  under 
several  rulers ;  much  the  same  culture  prevailed  through- 
out the  whole  district,and  the  inhabitants  were  known  to 
the  Inca  under  the  common  name  of  Yunca.  In  the  south, 
Yea,  Nasca  and  Pisco  seem  to  have  formed  one  group  ; 
Chincha  was  ruled  by  a  prince  of  the  same  name,  and 
the  valleys  between  this  point  and  Pachacamac  were  con- 
trolled by  a  chief  named  Chuquimancu.  From  Pacha- 
camac to  Huaman  a  more  powerful  chief,  Cuismancu, 
held  sway,  and  from  here  to  Truxillo  stretched  the 
domain  of  the  most  powerful  of  all,  Chimu.  But  if  the 
last-mentioned  chiefdom  was  the  largest,  the  kingdom 
of  Cuismancu  was  the  most  important  from  a  religious 
point  of  view.    At  Pachacamac  was  a  great  temple  to  the 


96     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

deity  of  that  name,  who  was  revered  throughout  the  mari- 
time  district,  and  received  the  homage  of  countless  pil- 
grims from  other  valleys.  At  Lima  was  a  hardly  less 
celebrated  shrine,  where  thegod  Rimac  ("The  Speaker") 
delivered  oracles  to  those  who  came  to  inquire  the  will 
of  heaven.  Of  such  importance  were  these  two  divinities 
that  the  Inca  permitted  the  continuance  of  their  worship, 
and  even  made  offerings  himself  at  their  respective 
temples.  At  the  same  time  he  caused  a  magnificent  Sun- 
temple  to  be  built  at  Pachacamac  in  a  more  exalted  posi- 
tion than  the  older  shrine.  A  concession  of  this  nature 
no  doubt  made  the  conquest  of  this  region  of  the  coast 
easier  ;  but  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Chimu  a  fierce  re- 
sistance was  made  from  valley  to  valley,  and  the  chief 
only  gave  way  when  he  was  invested  in  the  Santa 
valley  in  the  north  of  his  realm.  Cieza  places  the  con- 
quest of  the  coast  after  that  of  Quito,  and  represents  it 
as  taking  place  from  north  to  south,  but  as  the  Chimu 
had  assisted  the  chiet  of  Caxamarca  against  the  Inca,  it 
seems  more  likely  that  the  latter  preferred  to  subdue 
the  maritime  districts  before  proceeding  further  north. 
Flushed  with  success,  the  Inca  about  this  time  under- 
took an  expedition  of  far  greater  difficulty.  A  large 
body  of  troops  was  sent  across  the  eastern  cordillera 
to  the  Amazonian  forests,  which  stretched  unbroken 
from  the  foot  of  the  chain  to  the  Atlantic.  Efforts  were 
made  to  penetrate  the  country  from  several  points,  and 
the  Inca  troops  forced  their  way  through  the  dense 
undergrowth  and  over  trackless  swamps,  continually 
harassed  by  the  arrows  of  the  savages,  with  whom  they 
could  never  come  to  grips.  A  body  of  them  penetrated 
so  far  that  they  shrank  from  the  perils  involved  in  a 
return,  and  settled  with  one  of  the  less  hostile  tribes, 
where  they  were  found  by  Spanish  explorers  of  a  later 
age.  Little  was  done  in  the  way  of  conquest,  but  a  few 
of  the  tribes  on  the  fringe  of  the  forest  were  subdued, 
a  tribute  of  macaws,  monkeys,  honey  and  wax  was 


THE   PERUVIAN   EMPIRE  97 

levied, and  a  number  of  coca-plantations  were  prepared. 
In  the  north  the  way  was  now  open  to  the  empire  which 
had  been  established  by  the  rulers  of  Quito,  and  the 
conquest  of  Ecuador,  commenced  by  Tupac  Yupanqui, 
was  finally  effected  by  Huayna  Ccapac.  This  has  already 
been  sketched  in  the  last  chapter,  and  it  has  been 
mentioned  that  the  river  Ancasmayu  was  fixed  as  the 
northern  boundary  of  Inca  rule.  In  the  south  the 
great  Atacama  desert  was  traversed  by  a  road  con- 
structed across  it ;  and  the  Chilean  tribes  beyond 
were  conquered  as  far  as  the  river  Maule.  An  attempt 
to  penetrate  still  further  southward  brought  disaster 
upon  the  invaders  at  the  hands  of  the  nomad  Arau- 
canians,  and  the  Maule  was  finally  accepted  as  the 
southern  limit  of  Peruvian  power.  In  one  other  quarter 
the  Inca  arms  suffered  defeat.  East  of  the  Bolivian 
province  of  Charcas  was  a  region  of  dense  forest  and 
morass  inhabited  by  a  fierce  and  uncultured  people 
called  Chiriguano.  For  two  years  an  army  strove  to 
subdue  the  region,  but,  as  among  the  Anti  further 
north,  the  physical  features  of  the  district  provided 
insuperable  difficulties,  and  it  was  obliged  to  retreat 
baffled.  Before  the  end  of  the  reign  of  Huayna  Ccapac 
the  Inca  empire  had  reached  its  greatest  extent,  and 
almost  immediately  the  news  arrived  of  the  advent 
upon  the  coast  of  white  and  bearded  strangers. 

Subsequent  history  is  well  known,  but  for  the  sake  of 
completeness  it  may  be  summed  as  briefly  as  possible. 
Huayna  Ccapac  died  before  Pizarro  made  his  attempt 
upon  the  country.  He  left  two  sons,  Huascar,  the 
legitimate  heir,  and  Atahualpa.  To  Atahualpa  he  left 
the  kingdom  of  Quito,  or  so  it  was  claimed,  and  thus 
sowed  the  seed  of  dissension  between  the  two  brothers. 
Never  before  had  the  empire  been  thus  divided,  and  the 
act  was  a  direct  violation  of  the  customary  law  govern- 
ing the  succession.  The  supportersof  Atahualpaalleged 
that  he  was  the  son  of  Huayna  Ccapac  by  the  last  prin- 


98     SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCH/EOLOGY 

cess  of  Quito,  and  thus  tried  to  substantiate  his  claim 
to  the  chieftainship  of  Ecuador.  But  Sir  Clements 
Markham  has  shown  that  this  can  hardly  have  been  the 
case.  After  a  short  period  of  extreme  tension  Atahu- 
alpa  marched  upon  Cuzco,  supported  by  the  northern 
army  of  occupation  and  some  of  the  best  fighting  tribes 
of  Ecuador.  Huascar  was  defeated,  and  fell  into  his 
hands,  and  Atahualpa  assumed  the  supreme  power. 
Whether  he  ordered  a  general  slaughter  of  the  nobles 
who  supported  his  brother  is  uncertain  ;  at  any  rate,  he 
refrained  from  taking  the  life  of  Huascar  himself,  until 
he  feared  that  the  Spaniards  were  about  to  support  his 
cause.  With  the  capture  of  Atahualpa  by  the  Spaniards, 
and  the  subsequent  murder  of  Huascar,  the  history  of 
the  Inca  empire  ends  for  the  purposes  of  this  work. 


CHAPTER  V— PERU  :  GOVERNMENT 

THE  constitution  of  a  people,  like  its  language, 
being  the  product  of  its  past,  is  always  a  little 
behind  the  needs  of  the  present  ;  anything  like  radical 
change  in  the  method  of  government  is  always  repug- 
nant to  the  people  at  large,  and  one  of  the  distinguish- 
ing features  of  good  statesmanship  is  to  adapt  the  old 
machinery  to  the  performance  of  new  tasks,  so  that  the 
changes  necessitated  by  altered  circumstances  shall  be 
as  little  apparent  as  possible.  Judged  by  this  standard 
the  Peruvians  were  remarkably  fortunate  in  their  states- 
men ;  the  primitive  constitution  of  the  village  com- 
munity had  been  expanded  to  fit  the  needs  of  a  great 
empire,  yet  the  inhabitants  at  large,  except  those  of  the 
capital,  can  have  been  conscious  of  little  change  in  their 
circumstances,  save  in  the  direction  of  increased  pros- 
perity and  security.  From  within,  the  great  bureau- 
cracy which  directed  the  communistic  system  must 
have  been  hardlyapparent,  while  the  benefits  of  the  com- 
munistic system  itself  were  visible  to  every  eye.  The 
Inca  system  has  sometimes  been  represented  as  decadent 
at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest,  as  a  mechanical  and 
soulless  tyranny  ready  to  collapse  at  the  first  impulse 
from  without.  This  is  not  so.  In  popular  language  it 
was  in  every  sense  a  "going  concern,"  and  the  very  ease 
with  which  the  Spaniards  achieved  their  conquest  when 
once  they  had  laid  hands  upon  the  motive  power  within 
the  bureaucracy,  bears  witness,  not  to  the  efFeteness  of 
the  latter,  but,on  the  contrary,  to  the  remarkable  control 
which  it  exercised  throughout  the  whole  empire. 

In  the  earliest  times  the  Peruvians  seem  to  have 

99 


loo  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

lived  in  small  independent  communities,  or  groups  of 
such  communities,  ruled  by  the  heads  of  families,  but 
in  war  accepting  the  leadership  of  some  distinguished 
warrior  who  bore  the  title  of  Sinchi.  Under  such  cir- 
cumstances it  was  inevitable  that  men  should  arise 
who,  having  gained  the  position  of  war-chief,  would 
encourage  the  tribe  to  adopt  an  aggressive  policy  in 
order  to  retain  their  power.  Gradually  a  few  of  the 
neighbouring  tribes  would  be  conquered  and  absorbed, 
and  the  Sinchi,  from  the  continual  exercise  of  his 
authority  when  upon  the  warpath,  would  begin  to  ac- 
quire influence  in  times  of  peace  also,  and  would  finally 
attain  the  position  of  chief.  By  further  conquest  and 
alliance  the  embryo  state  would  expand,  the  individual 
tribes  would  not  necessarily  change  their  communistic 
manner  of  life,  nor  their  former  leaders,  only  the  latter 
would  be  subordinated  to  the  chief  of  the  paramount 
tribe.  In  a  country  where  nearly  all  families  claimed 
descent  in  some  miraculous  manner  from  a  lake,  a 
stone,  a  tree,  or  an  animal,  the  claim  of  the  ruler  to 
divine  lineage  would  be  hailed  with  no  surprise,  for  his 
ancestor  would  be  magnified  with  him,  and  would  soon 
attain  the  status  of  a  tribal  god.  In  some  such  way  the 
miniature  empires  of  the  Colla  and  Chanca  must  have 
developed,  as  well  as  that  of  the  Inca. 

The  basis  of  the  Peruvian  social  system  was  the  family, 
and  the  people  were  divided  into  a  number  o(  ayllu,  or 
lineages  ;  at  Cuzco  these  ayllu  were  divided  into  two 
groups,  living  in  different  parts  of  the  city,  and  called 
respectively  Hanan-Cuzco  and  Hurin-Cuzco  ("Upper 
Cuzco  "and  "  Lower  Cuzco").  The  origin  of  this  two- 
fold division  is  obscure,  and  is  explained  differently  by 
different  authors.  Manco  Ccapac,  Lloque  Yupanqui, 
and  Inca  Rocca  have  respectively  been  credited  with 
the  arrangement,  while  Montesinos  makes  it  date  from 
as  far  back  as  the  fifth  reign  of  his  early  list.  It  is 
probable  that  it  was  of  early  date,  since  it  was  not 


PERU— GOVERNMENT  loi 

peculiar  to  the  Inca.  The  two  chiefs  who  led  the 
Chanca  invasion  are  said  to  have  ruled  respectively 
over  the  Hanan-Chanca  and  the  Hurin-Chanca ;  so  it 
is  not  unlikely  that  the  institution  may  be  connected 
with  the  early  empire  of  pre-Inca  times.  As  to  its 
meaning,  nothing  can  be  said.  The  two  divisions  may 
have  represented  two  original  tribes  of  a  confederacy, 
or  they  may  conceivably  have  been  connected  with 
some  exogamous  form  of  marriage.  If  the  latter  they 
must  be  very  ancient,  for  the  Peruvians  tended,  as  far 
as  our  knowleda^e  goes,  far  more  in  the  direction  of  en- 
dogamy than  exogamy.^  While  the  Inca  state  was  yet 
small,  the  primitive  communistic  system  continued  in 
operation  without  much  supervision  ;  but  as  the  em- 
pire grew,  and  tribe  after  tribe  was  added  to  it,  an 
official  class  gradually  sprang  into  existence,  whose  duty 
it  was  to  see,  not  only  that  every  man  performed  his 
share  of  work,  but  also  that  the  products  of  united 
labour  were  fairly  distributed.  The  idea  of  constant 
supervision,  so  repugnant  to  the  Anglo-Saxon  tempera- 
ment, was  neither  new  nor  distasteful  to  the  Peruvians. 
Individual  freedom  meant  nothing  to  them,  and  obedi- 
ence to  a  superior  was  a  habit.  Superstitious  to  a  de- 
gree, they  were  always  ready  to  credit  a  conqueror  with 
supernatural  powers,  and  readily  acquiesced  in  a  new 
ruler  when  the  change  brought  no  alteration  in  their  in- 
dividual prosperity.  The  contrast  in  this  respect  be- 
tween the  Peruvians  and  Araucanians  is  most  striking  ; 
the  latter  form  the  subject  of  a  later  chapter,  but  we  may 
anticipate  by  sayingthatamongthem  individual  freedom 
was  a  creed,  as  among  our  own  forefathers,  which  rose 
superior  to  any  supernatural  terrors.  And  when  a 
people  as  a  whole  is  prepared  to  perish  rather  than  sub- 
mit, it  is  unconquerable.  Hence  it  is  not  surprising  that 
the  Inca  empire  ceased  at  the  river  Maule. 

^   Endogamy  —  the  practice  of  seeking  a  wife  within  the  group  ; 
exogamy  =  the  practice  of  seeking  a  wife  outside  the  group. 


I02  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

Of  the  growth  of  the  huge  bureaucracy  which  the 
Spaniards  found  in  Peru,  little  can  be  said,  but  it  is 
probable  that  it  only  began  to  be  evolved  from  the 
primitive  communism  when,  under  Pachacuti,  the 
policy  of  effective  conquest  and  colonial  expansion  was 
seriously  inaugurated.  Later  its  ramifications  extended 
to  every  hamlet  of  the  empire.  The  latter,  for  the 
purposes  of  administration,  was  divided  into  provinces, 
each  ruled  by  an  hereditary  Cura^a  who  had  power  to 
impose  local  by-laws  in  accordance  with  the  customary 
code  of  the  Inca.  Under  the  Cura9a  was  a  hierarchy 
of  officials,  ranging  from  sub-chiefs  to  subordinate  in- 
spectors whose  responsibility  was  limited  to  the  super- 
vision of  no  more  than  ten  heads  of  families.  A  strict 
census  was  kept  of  the  population  and  resources  of 
each  province,  and  the  returns  were  sent  regularly 
to  Cuzco.  In  accordance  with  the  census,  tribute 
was  imposed,  and,  as  money  was  a  thing  unknown 
in  Peru,  all  tribute  was  in  kind.  Of  this  tribute  the 
most  minute  records  were  kept,  and  the  system  by 
which  the  imperial  accounts  were  registered  deserves 
a  short  description.  No  form  of  writing  can  be  proved 
to  have  existed  under  the  Inca.  It  is  true  that  Pacha- 
cuti is  said  to  have  had  certain  events  recorded  by 
paintings  on  boards,  but  we  have  no  warrant  to  sup- 
pose that  these  paintings  approximated  in  any  way  to 
a  hieroglyphic  script.  Montesinos,  again,  says  that 
under  the  older  empire  writing  was  practised  on  stones 
and  banana-leaves,  but  the  statement  is  in  the  highest 
degree  doubtful,  and  we  possess  no  single  trace  of  cor- 
roborative evidence.  But  if  they  had  no  form  of  writ- 
ing, the  Peruvians  had  invented  a  very  serviceable 
substitute,  the  quipus.  These  quipus  (PI.  IX,  2) 
were  cords  on  which  were  made  knots  of  almost  in- 
finite multiplicity.  For  the  purposes  of  reckoning, 
each  form  of  knot  represented  a  different  number,  and 
each  string  a  different  subject;  to  some  of  the  strings, 


PLATE  IX 


PERU— GOVERNMENT  103 

subordinate  strings  were  attached  (as  can  be  seen  in  the 
illustration),  serving  as  footnotes,  and  the  strings  form- 
ing one  set  of  accounts  were  arranged  as  a  fringe  along 
a  master-string.  An  indication  of  the  nature  of  the 
objects  enumerated  was  furnished  by  the  colour  of  each 
string,  and  the  combinations  of  colours  and  types  of 
knots  gave  an  almost  endless  variety  to  the  uses  to 
which  this  method  of  recording  could  be  put.  It  is 
even  said  that  events  were  recorded  by  means  of  the 
quipus,  and  the  statement  is  not  incredible,  since  the 
system  was  in  the  hands  of  professional  accountants, 
Quipucamayoc,  who  gave  their  whole  lives  to  its  study 
and  elaboration. 

The  census  made,  and  the  local  resources  estimated, 
it  remained  to  impose  the  tribute,  which  consisted  in  the 
performance  of  the  various  tasks  necessary  for  the  main- 
tenance and  defence  of  the  individual  and  the  state. 
From  two  classes  of  work  no  man  was  exempt  except  by 
special  privilege,  agricultural  labour  and  military  ser- 
vice, but  apart  from  this,  those  individuals  who  were 
masters  of  a  particular  craft  were  not  set  to  work  at  any- 
thing else.  Weaving  and  spinning  were  matters  of  com- 
mon knowledge, but  mining,metallurgy, stone-working 
and  the  like,were  the  tasks  of  selected  artisans.  Whether 
a  time-system  was  in  vogue,  or  whether  a  man's  tribute 
consisted  in  the  performance  of  a  definite  piece  of  work, 
is  uncertain, since  Garcilasso,who  gives  the  best  account 
of  this  communal  labour-system,  seems  to  contradict 
himself, but  probably  the  system  varied  according  to  the 
nature  of  the  task.  No  one  was  allowed  to  be  idle  ex- 
cept the  sick  ;  and  even  the  aged,  the  deaf  and  blind,  and 
young  children,  were  accorded  tasks  suited  to  their 
limited  capacities.  It  was  because  the  whole  of  the 
labour  was  in  the  hands  of  the  state  that  the  Inca  were 
able  to  achieve  such  marvels  in  the  way  of  building  and 
road-making  ;  but  the  corves-systGm  was  not  abused, 
the  extent  of  a  man's  services,  as  said  above,  was  limited 


I04  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

(probably  in  this  case  by  time)  and  his  labour  was  in- 
terrupted by  regular  rest-days  on  which  he  was  en- 
couraged to  hold  festival  with  his  fellows.  As  for  the 
artisans,  their  task  consisted  solely  in  the  manufacture 
of  definite  articles,  their  material  being  supplied  them  ; 
and,  in  the  same  way,  each  man  received  wool  for  spin- 
ning and  weaving  sufficient  for  the  needs  of  himself  and 
his  family.  The  various  manufactures  and  the  field- 
produce  were  collected  by  the  officials,  and  sent  to  the 
chief  city  of  the  province  at  a  fixed  time  ;  there  they 
were  registered  by  the  Quipucamayoc  in  the  presence  of 
the  Cura9a,and  were  henceforward  at  the  disposal  ot  the 
state.  The  officials  themselves  did  not  labour,  their  ser- 
vices in  the  matter  of  supervision  being  regarded  in  the 
light  of  tribute  ;  and  the  Inca  class,  those  who  were  of 
the  blood  royal  by  birth  or  ex  officio^  were  exempt  from 
tribute  altogether.  Besides  this  no  actual  tribute  was 
exacted  from  youths  below  the  age  of  twenty-five,  but 
they  might  assist  their  father  in  the  performance  of  his 
allotted  task,  or  he  might  employ  them  in  the  perform- 
ance of  household  duties  or  the  tillingof  the  land  allowed 
him  by  the  state.  In  any  case,  the  subordinate  inspectors 
saw  to  it  that  they  were  not  idle.  But  if  no  one,  save 
the  members  of  the  ruling  caste,  was  altogether  exempt 
from  some  kind  of  labour,  at  least  there  was  no  poverty. 
The  produce  of  the  state  lands  was  stored  ready  for  the 
victualling  of  an  expedition,  or  for  the  relief  of  a  famine 
in  any  quarter  of  the  empire,  and  the  condition  of  the 
peasant  in  Peru  approximated  nearer  to  the  ideals  ot  the 
doctrinaire  socialist  than  in  any  country  in  the  world. 
But  it  was  at  a  price  which  perhaps  the  natives  of  no 
other  country  would  consent  to  pay.  From  the  cradle 
to  the  grave  the  life  of  the  individual  was  marked  out 
for  him  ;  as  he  was  born  so  would  he  die,  and  he  lived 
his  allotted  span  under  the  ceaseless  supervision  of 
officials.  His  dress  was  fixed  according  to  his  district  ; 
he  might  not  leave  his  village  except  at  the  bidding  of 


PERU— GOVERNMENT  105 

the  state,  and  then  only  for  state  purposes,  he  might 
not  even  seek  a  wife  outside  his  own  community.  An 
individual  of  ability  might  perhaps  rise  to  be  one  of  the 
subordinate  inspectors,  but  the  higher  ranks  were  in- 
exorably closed  to  him.  Even  his  own  family  was  not 
entirely  under  his  control,  for  his  daughters,  if  of  ex- 
ceptional beauty,  might  be  taken  by  the  state  to  serve  in 
one  of  the  "  convents  "  described  later. 

Each  new  province,  as  it  was  added  to  the  empire, 
was  organized  after  the  same  fashion.  Though  the  Inca 
empire  grew  so  rapidly,  it  was  not  built  in  haste.  The 
corvee-systGm  enabled  the  ruler  to  call  up  enormous 
masses  of  men,  and  to  relieve  them  at  reasonable  inter- 
vals, and  it  seems  to  be  a  fact  that  actual  force  was  not 
employed  until  all  the  resources  of  diplomacy  were  ex- 
hausted. The  regions  already  annexed  were  assured  by 
the  building  of  fortresses  and  government  residences, 
and  there  followed  in  the  track  of  the  army  a  whole  host 
of  officials,  road-makers  and  artisans,  by  whom  the  coun- 
try was  organized  on  the  accepted  lines.  Further  se- 
curity was  ensured  by  an  ingenious  expedient.  Large 
sections  of  the  indigenous  population  were  deported  to 
some  distant  province  of  similar  climate,  and  their  places 
filled  by  others  of  whose  fidelity  there  was  no  question. 
The  mutual  suspicion  which  was  bound  to  endure,  at 
any  rate  for  a  period,  between  the  new-comers  and  the  old 
inhabitants  rendered  anything  like  organized  revolt  im- 
possible. Deported  colonists  were  known  as  mitimaes. 
The  same  system  was  employed  to  relieve  a  congested 
population,  and  to  bring  under  cultivation  fertile  lands 
which  lay  fallow  for  lack  of  husbandmen,  and  resulted 
in  the  introduction  into  many  regions  of  forms  of  pro- 
duce before  unknown  there.  Mitimaes  sent  to  a  district 
hitherto  uncultivated  were  accorded  certain  minor  privi- 
leges, and  their  tribute  was  remitted  for  a  given  period 
until  the  land  was  well  under  cultivation.  The  com- 
munal system  enabled  supplies  of  grain  to  be  sent  from 


io6  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

the  fertile  valleys  to  the  sterile  pasture-lands  of  the  high 
country  for  the  support  of  the  numerous  shepherds  who 
watched  the  state  flocks.  At  first,  at  any  rate,  the  former 
ruler  of  a  newly  conquered  district  was  not  deposed,  if 
he  promised  allegiance  to  thelnca,  but  was  established 
as  Curaga.  At  the  same  time  an  Inca  governor  was  ap- 
pointed to  the  province,  to  command  the  garrison  and 
to  receive  the  tribute,  but  not  otherwise  to  interfere  with 
the  government  of  the  people  except  in  emergency.  But 
in  later  times,  according  to  Sarmiento,  Tupac  Yupanqui 
deposed  the  existing  chiefs  throughout  the  country,  and 
appointed  officers  of  his  own.  The  heirs  of  the  Curaga 
were  sent  to  Cuzco  to  be  educated,and  were  thus  hostages 
for  the  fidelity  of  their  parents,  at  the  same  time  imbib- 
ing all  the  Inca  traditions. 

Rapid  communication  between  the  most  remote  dis- 
tricts and  the  capital  was  secured  by  roads,  which  in 
their  way  are  marvellous  examples  of  primitive  en- 
gineering. Two  main  routes  led  from  the  northern 
extremity  of  the  empire  to  the  southern,  the  one  fol- 
lowing the  coast-line,  the  other  the  lofty  region  between 
the  Cordilleras.  These  were  connected  by  cross-roads, 
such  as  those  between  Cuzco  and  Nasca  (Wiener), 
Xauxa  and  Lima  (Cieza),  Pampa  and  Huaura,  Chavin 
and  Paramonga,  Caxamarca  and  Zaran  (Wiener).  Of 
the  two,  that  in  the  highlands  was  by  far  the  more 
difficult  of  construction  and  Cieza  writes  of  it  as  fol- 
lows :^  "One  of  the  things  which  I  admired  most  in 
contemplating  and  writing  down  the  affairs  of  this 
kingdom,  was  to  think  how  and  in  what  manner  they 
can  have  made  such  grand  and  admirable  roads  as  we 
now  see,  and  what  a  number  of  men  would  suffice  for 
their  construction,  and  with  what  tools  and  instruments 
they  can  have  levelled  the  mountains  and  broken 
through  the  rocks  to  make  them  so  broad  and  good  as 
they  are.  .  .  .  Some  of  them  extended  for  over  one 

^   From  the  translation  by  Sir  Clements  Markham. 


PERU— GOVERNMENT  107 

thousand  one  hundred  leagues,  along  such  dizzy  and 
frightful  abysses  that,  looking  down,  the  sight  failed 
one.  In  some  places,  to  secure  the  regular  width,  it 
was  necessary  to  hew  a  path  out  of  the  living  rock  ; 
all  of  which  was  done  with  fire  and  their  picks.  In 
other  places  the  ascents  were  so  steep  and  high  that 
steps  had  to  be  cut  from  below  to  enable  the  ascent  to 
be  made,  with  wider  spaces  at  intervals  for  resting- 
places.  In  other  parts  there  were  great  heaps  of  snow, 
which  were  more  to  be  feared,  and  not  at  one  spot  only, 
but  often  recurring.  Where  the  snows  obstructed  the 
way,  and  where  there  were  forests  of  trees  and  loose 
clods  of  earth,  the  road  was  levelled  and  paved  with 
stones  when  necessary."  It  was  even  the  custom  some- 
times, when  an  Inca  travelled,  to  disregard  the  road  made 
by  a  predecessor,  and  to  construct  a  new  route.  Thus 
Cieza  speaks  of  three  or  four  roads  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Vilcas,  and  states  that  he  once  lost  his  way  on 
one  of  the  older  tracks,  believing  it  to  be  that  still  in 
use.  On  the  coast  the  difficulties  were  less,  and  the 
road  was  broad,  paved  with  stone  slabs,  protected  by 
walls  and  shaded  by  trees.  But,  where  it  led  through 
the  desert,  the  presence  of  moving  sand-dunes  rendered 
a  paved  way  a  waste  of  time.  In  such  places  the  route 
was  marked  by  long  poles  set  in  the  earth  at  short  dis- 
tances, many  of  which  ultimately  served  the  improvi- 
dent Spanish  conquerors  for  firewood  !  The  roads 
were  made  and  kept  in  repair  by  local  labour,  each 
province  being  responsible  for  the  section  passing 
through  its  territory,  and,  in  the  desert  parts,  the  in- 
habitants of  the  nearest  villages  were  called  out  to  per- 
form the  work  and  were  supplied  with  provisions  until 
the  completion  of  their  task. 

The  main  routes  met  in  the  centre  of  Cuzco,  forming 
four  cross-roads.  According  to  Wiener,  the  mountain 
road  to  the  north  ran  through  Xauxa,  over  Cerro  de 
Pasco,  past  Huanuco  Viejo  and  Chavin,  to  Caxamarca  ; 


io8  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

that  to  the  west,  to  Nasca,  where  it  turned  north,  and  fol- 
lowed the  coast  to  Tumbez,  proceeding  thence  inland  via 
Loja  and  Cuenca  to  Quito,  and  so  to  the  Ancasmayu. 
That  to  the  east,  led  to  the  Andes  beyond  Paucartambo  ; 
and  that  to  the  south,  vitl  Arequipa,  to  Arica,  whence  it 
must  have  crossed  the  Tarapaca  and  Atacama  deserts 
to  Coquimbo.  Another  southern  route  kept  to  the 
highlands,  proceeding  through  the  Collao  and  along  the 
western  shore  of  lake  Titicaca  to  Tiahuanaco.  From 
here  there  was  possibly  an  extension  to  southern  Bolivia, 
and  even  into  the  north-west  Argentine  ;  at  any  rate 
traces  of  Inca  roads  have  been  found  recently  in  that 
locality. 

Along  the  main  roads  were  established  a  series  of 
small  huts,  and  in  each  hut  were  posted  two  men, 
who  watched  the  road  in  each  direction.  If  it  were 
necessary  to  send  a  message  to  the  capital,  the  provin- 
cial official  would  communicate  it  to  one  of  the  men  at 
the  nearest  post-house,  who  immediately  started  to  run 
as  fast  as  he  could  to  the  next,  which  was  about  half  a 
league  distant.  As  soon  as  he  drew  within  ear-shot  he 
commenced  to  shout  his  message,  and  as  soon  as  it  was 
understood,  one  of  the  watchers  would  dart  off  on  the 
road  to  the  next  post,  and  so  the  message  was  carried 
to  its  destination.  The  posts  were  set  at  short  intervals 
in  order  to  allow  the  runners,  or  Chasqui,  to  cover  the 
distance  at  the  top  of  their  speed ;  the  Chasqui  them- 
selves were  selected  for  their  swiftness  of  foot,  and  each 
remained  on  service  for  a  stated  period  during  the  year, 
thus  paying  his  "tribute"  to  the  state.  By  this  means, 
in  spite  of  the  precipitous  nature  of  the  road,  a  message 
could  be  transmitted  from  Quito  to  Cuzco,  a  distance 
of  over  a  thousand  miles  as  the  crow  flies,  in  eight  days. 
Quipus  were  also  handed  from  Chasqui  to  Chasqui  when 
it  was  necessary  to  send  a  communication  of  greater 
length.  The  system  is  attributed  to  Pachacuti.  Along 
the  route  were  also  constructed  tamho,  "inns"  or  store- 


PERU— GOVERNMENT  109 

houses,  which  formed  provision  depots  for  the  use  of 
expeditionary  forces  or  those  who  travelled  on  state 
affairs  (in  fact  there  were  no  other  travellers). 

The  provinces  were  visited  periodically  by  high 
officials  who  went  a  round  of  inspection,  and  at  the  same 
time  listened  to  complaints ;  these  were  registered  and 
referred  to  Cuzco  whence  judges  were  sent  to  administer 
justice.  But  it  was  only  the  most  serious  offences  which 
came  before  them  ;  in  each  village  was  a  magistrate  who 
tried  cases  of  less  importance,  and  inflicted  summary 
penalties  in  accordance  with  a  definite  code.  The  various 
subordinate  inspectors  were  obliged  to  report  the  small- 
est misdemeanours  to  their  superior  officers,  under  pain 
of  suffering  double  the  penalty  attached  to  the  offence  ; 
the  local  judges  kept  strict  account  of  the  cases  which 
had  come  before  them,  and  the  quipus  on  which  these 
cases  were  recorded  were  liable  to  scrutiny  by  the  travel- 
ling inspectors.  Serious  crime,  or  indeed  crime  of  any 
sort,  seems  to  have  been  exceedingly  rare  ;  partly  no 
doubt  owing  to  the  elaborate  system  of  supervision, 
and  partly  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  ordinances  of  the 
Inca  were  regarded  as  divine  commands,  but  partly  also 
by  reason  of  the  natural  docility  of  the  Peruvian.  Then 
too,  as  regards  the  most  serious  offences  of  all,  a  man's 
relations,  and  even  his  entire  village,  were  held  respon- 
sible for  his  acts  and  shared  his  punishment.  This 
system  of  collective  responsibility  is  common  in  primi- 
tive communities,  and  invariably  proves  to  be  an  ex- 
tremely efficient  check  upon  crime.  Children  were  not 
exempt  from  the  law,  and  special  punishments  were 
allotted  to  them,  but  their  fathers  were  punished  at  the 
same  time,  because  a  child's  naughtiness  was  held  to  be 
the  result  of  bad  up-bringing.  The  chief  punishments 
were  flogging  and  death,  fines  of  course  did  not  exist 
among  a  people  where  there  was  practically  no  private 
property.  Besides  the  regular  inspections  there  were 
also  occasions,  occurring  at  irregular  intervals,  when  the 


no  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

Inca  himself  made  a  visitation  of  his  empire,  a  proceed- 
ing which,  in  the  days  of  its  greatest  extent,  occupied 
several  years. 

The  ruler  himself  lived  in  divine  state,  and  bore  the 
title  of  Sapa  Inca,  or  Only  Inca;  the  title  Inca  was  also 
assigned  to  all  males  of  royal  blood  generally,  married 
Inca  being  called  Atauchi,  and  the  sons  of  the  ruler, 
Auqui.  Women  of  royal  blood  were  called  Palla,  the 
unmarried  daughters  of  the  ruler,  Nusta,  and  his  chief 
wife,  Ccoya.  It  was  a  rule  for  the  Sapa  Inca  to  marry 
his  sister,  who  thus  became  Ccoya,  but  the  antiquity  of 
the  practice  is  at  least  doubtful.  The  idea  which 
seemed  to  underlie  it  was  that  the  purity  of  the  succes- 
sion should  be  preserved  as  far  as  possible,  for  it  was 
only  the  sons  of  the  Inca  and  Ccoya  who  were  the 
rightful  heirs  to  the  kingdom.  Of  them  the  eldest  had 
first  claim,  but,  as  in  the  case  of  Tupac  Amaru,  eldest 
son  of  Pachacuti,  he  could  be  superseded  in  favour  of 
one  of  his  brothers  if  the  exigencies  of  the  moment 
demanded.  The  Inca  generally  formed  a  ruling  caste, 
sharing  in  the  divine  origin  of  the  head  of  their  clan ; 
they  were  possessed  of  numerous  privileges,  such  as 
exemption  from  tribute,  and  were  distinguished  by 
various  insignia  of  which  the  most  important  were  the 
two  large  studs  worn  in  the  lobes  of  their  ears.  To  such 
an  extent  were  these  ornaments  the  peculiar  privilege 
of  their  class,  that  the  Spaniards  gave  them  the  name 
of  Orejones.  The  badge  of  sovereignty  was  a  fringed 
cord  called  llautUy  of  vicuiia-wool,  wound  three  or  four 
times  round  the  head.  In  the  case  of  the  ruler  the 
fringe  was  red,  in  the  case  of  the  heir,  yellow ;  and  the 
higher  officers,  such  as  viceroys,  seem  to  have  borne 
similar  fringes  of  other  colours.  Another  ornament, 
peculiar  to  the  Sapa  Inca,  was  a  golden  diadem  in  which 
were  fixed  two  wing-feathers  of  the  bird  called  Cora- 
quenque ;  his  garments,  a  long  tunic  and  a  square  cloak, 
were  made  of  the  finest  vicuiia-wool,  and  he  sat  on  a 


PERU— GOVERNMENT  1 1 1 

throne  of  gold  supported  by  a  large  plate  of  the  same 
metal.  Before  him  was  carried  a  banner,  blazoned  with 
the  rainbow,  the  badge  of  the  royal  house.  The  Inca's 
court  was  brilliant  in  the  extreme;  all  the  utensils  of 
the  royal  household  were  of  gold  or  silver,  and  mag- 
nificent gardens  were  attached  to  the  palace  in  which  every 
kind  of  plant  was  imitated  in  the  precious  metals.  Not 
even  his  own  relations  could  enter  the  presence  of  the 
ruler  without  removing  theirshoes  and  carrying  burdens 
on  their  backs,  expressing  thus  the  sense  of  their  own 
unworthiness.  When  he  travelled  abroad  to  visit  the 
provinces  he  was  carried  in  a  wooden  litter  resplendent 
with  gold  and  jewels,  and  furnished  with  curtains  which 
could  be  drawn  when  the  divine  inmate  desired  privacy. 
The  bearers  were  all  chosen  men,  inhabitants  of  certain 
provinces,  who  gave  their  services  by  way  of  tribute, 
and  had  undergone  long  training  in  the  art ;  while  in 
front  went  runners  whose  duty  it  was  to  remove  the 
slightest  obstacle  from  the  path  lest  the  bearers  might 
stumble,  an  offence  punishable,  it  is  said,  with  death. 
The  whole  resources  of  the  empire  were  at  the  service 
of  the  Inca.  Large  bodies  of  selected  labourers  drawn 
from  the  provinces  built  his  spacious  palace  inCuzco  and 
his  hardly  less  magnificent  residences  in  the  suburbs, 
whither  he  retired  to  refresh  himself  when  tired  with  the 
cares  of  the  state.  All  the  gold  and  silver  produced 
throughout  the  country  was  royal  property,and  even  the 
other  Inca  and  the  Cura^a  only  employed  ornaments 
and  utensils  made  from  the  precious  metals  by  his  per- 
mission. Forhimtheinhabitants  of  themany  "convents" 
spent  their  days  in  weaving  clothing  from  the  wool  of 
the  vicuna  and  llama;  of  these  the  finest  were  reserved 
for  his  personal  use,  while  the  rest  were  distributed 
among  the  other  Inca. 

When  a  ruler  abdicated  or  died,  one  of  the  highest 
officials  wasappointed  to  actas  regent,  since  it  was  neces- 
sary for  the  heir  to  prepare  himself  for  his  new  office 


112  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

by  a  long  and  severe  fast.  The  heir  then  received  the 
fringe,  llautu^  in  the  great  Sun-temple  at  Cuzco,  and  was 
henceforward  absolute  ruler  of  the  empire.  It  was 
necessary  that  the  coronation  ceremony  should  take  place 
at  Cuzco,  and  one  of  the  chief  reasons  why  Atahualpa 
was  regarded  as  a  usurper  was  the  fact  that  he  assumed 
the  fringe  at  Tumebamba. 

Such  then  was  the  Peruvian  constitution  ;  at  the  head 
the  divine  ruler  ;  next,  the  Inca  nobility,  who  held  the 
principal  offices  of  state  ;  next  the  Cura9a  who  were  not 
Inca,  but  who  were  often  permitted  to  adopt  certain 
of  the  Inca  insignia^  notably  the  ear-studs  ;  next,  the 
humbler  members  of  the  great  official  hierarchy,  and 
finally  the  populace. 

In  connection  with  the  noble  class  an  institution  of 
the  greatest  interest  was  the  ceremony  called  Huara- 
chicu,  at  which  the  youths  of  high  birth  were  admitted 
to  a  kind  of  chivalrous  order.  This  ceremony  was 
closely  connected  with  the  very  ancient  and  holy  huaca 
called  Huanacauri,  the  origin  of  which  has  been  related 
above.  It  is  said  that  just  before  Ayar  Uchu  became 
a  stone,  he  laid  upon  his  brother  Manco  a  command 
that  after  the  foundation  of  the  prospective  city  he 
should  be  regarded  as  the  patron  of  all  the  youths 
of  the  clan  on  the  occasion  when  they  were  admitted  to 
manhood.  It  seems  probable  that  the  ceremony  was 
extremely  ancient,  and  dated  from  pre-Inca  days.  It 
is  almost  undoubtedly  the  survival  of  some  primitive 
initiation  ceremony,  such  as  exists  among  so  many  bar- 
barous peoples,  at  which  the  youths  were  dedicated  to 
the  god,  and  proved  their  manhood  by  submitting  to 
numerous  ordeals  more  or  less  severe.  After  a  six-day 
fast,  in  which  the  near  relations  participated,  the  candi- 
dates took  part  in  a  foot-race  from  the  sacred  Huana- 
cauri hill  to  the  fortress  at  Cuzco.  The  winner  received 
great  honour,  and  was  selected  as  captain  over  his  com- 
panions.    So  writes  Garcilasso,  but  another  author,  also 


PERU— GOVERNMENT  1 1 3 

of  Inca  blood,  states  that  the  race  took  place  from  the 
city  to  the  Huanacauri  hill  where  were  placed  certain 
animals  typical  of  swiftness  and  sluggishness. 

A  more  severe  test  than  the  foot-race  was  provided 
by  a  sham  fight  in  which  one  half  of  the  candidates  at- 
tempted to  storm  a  fort  held  by  the  other  half;  blunted 
weapons  were  used,  but  severe  wounds  were  by  no 
means  infrequent.  The  struggle  lasted  for  one  whole 
day,  and  on  the  next  the  attacking  party  assumed  the 
role  of  defenders,  and  vice  versa. 

Next  followed  a  series  of  individual  competitions  in 
various  athletic  exercises,  and  in  the  use  of  different 
weapons,  javelin,  bow,  and  sling,  in  which  candidates  of 
similar  age  were  pitted  one  against  the  other.  Their 
vigilance  was  proved  by  long  spells  of  sentry  duty,  their 
fortitude  by  scourging  with  wands  of  osier,  while  their 
self-control  was  made  the  object  of  the  following  peculiar 
test.  A  skilled  warrior  brandished  a  club  or  spear  close 
to  the  faces  and  limbs  of  the  novices  while  they,  as 
Garcilasso  says,  "were  expected  to  stand  as  immovable 
as  rocks  beaten  by  sea  and  wind  "  ;  the  slightest  sign 
of  flinching,  the  mere  blinking  of  an  eye,  brought 
disgrace  upon  the  unlucky  candidate. 

The  thorough  nature  of  soldierly  training  among 
the  Incas  is  well  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  the  young 
aspirant  to  military  honours  was  expected  to  be  pro- 
ficient not  only  in  the  use  of  arms,  but  also  in  their 
manufacture,  and,  further,  in  the  preparation  of  sandals, 
a  matter  of  great  importance  in  a  country  so  extended 
as  ancient  Peru,  where  a  campaign  entailed  a  series  of 
long  and  wearisome  marches.  Provision  was  also  made 
for  the  moral  training  of  the  candidates  in  a  series  of 
lectures  delivered  by  men  of  distinction  in  which  ideals, 
strangely  similar  to  those  of  Spanish  chivalry,  were  set 
before  them — ideals  which  in  practice  often  suffered  a 
distortion  as  great  as  those  of  their  conquerors. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  month  of  probation  the 
I 


114  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCH^:OLOGY 

candidates  were  brought  before  the  ruler  to  receive  at 
his  hands  the  insignia  of  their  new  rank,  "without 
which,"  Garcilasso  writes,  "as  the  books  on  knighthood 
would  have  it,  they  were  virgins  unable  to  bear  arms." 
The  occasion  was  one  of  great  solemnity.  The  ruler, 
surrounded  by  the  highest  princes  of  the  blood,  received 
the  homage  of  each  of  the  candidates  in  turn,  and  with 
his  own  hands  conferred  upon  him  the  most  important 
mark  of  the  dignified  position  to  which  he  had  attained, 
by  piercing  his  ears  with  a  golden  bodkin.  The  holes 
were  not  allowed  to  close,  but  were  gradually  enlarged 
until  they  could  support  ornaments  of  considerable  size. 
Such  ornaments,  as  remarked  above,  were  the  mark  of 
the  ruling  caste. 

After  this  honour  the  candidate  passed  before  the 
Inca  who  ranked  next  in  authority  to  the  ruler,  and 
received  from  him  a  pair  of  cloth  shoes  of  the  pattern 
worn  by  the  ruling  class — a  proceeding  which  Garcilasso 
compares  to  the  investiture  of  a  Spanish  knight  with 
spurs.  After  this  he  was  conducted  to  another  apart- 
ment where  other  Incas  of  high  rank  clad  him  in  the 
loincloth,  huara.  This  proceeding  ranked  next  in  im- 
portance to  the  piercing  of  the  ears,  which  was  a  royal 
privilege  only  to  be  conferred  by  the  Son  of  the  Sun 
himself ;  but,  in  so  far  as  it  marked  the  boy's  attainment 
of  his  majority,  it  gave  the  name  to  the  whole  ceremony. 
The  presentation  of  the  shoes,  it  is  said,  was  not  an 
essential  part  of  the  investiture,  but  was  regarded  rather 
in  the  light  of  a  reward  for  the  hardships  undergone 
during  the  month  of  probation. 

As  remarked  above,  no  Inca  who  had  failed  to  pass 
through  the  whole  course  of  initiation  could  hope  for  an 
honourable  position  either  in  civil  or  military  life.  Even 
the  heir-apparent  himself  was  not  exempt  from  any  of 
the  ordeals  to  which  the  other  candidates  were  submitted. 
In  fact,  it  is  recorded  that  he  was  treated  with  greater 
rigour  than  hiscomrades,  for  it  was  held, in  proportion  as 


PERU— GO VERNMENT  1 1 5 

his  destiny  was  higher  than  theirs,  his  probation  should 
be  more  searching;  the  wider  his  experience  in  the  toils 
and  hardships  of  war,  the  more  ready  would  be  his  re- 
cognition of  good  service  on  the  part  of  his  future 
subjects.  For  a  similar  reason  his  clothing  during  this 
period  consisted  of  the  "vilest  and  most  wretched  clothes 
that  can  be  imagined,"  so  that  his  future  prosperity 
might  not  render  him  blind  to  the  evils  of  poverty,  but 
that,  inspired  by  the  sympathy  of  experience,  he  might 
indeed  merit  the  royal  title  of  Hacchacuyac,  the  mean- 
ing of  which  is  "Lover  and  Benefactor  of  the  Poor." 
During  his  novitiate  his  exalted  rank  secured  him  but 
one  distinction ;  the  prize  for  victory  in  the  foot-race 
from  the  sacred  hill  of  Huanacauri  to  the  citadel  was 
awarded  him  as  of  right. 

His  investiture  also  was  similar  to  that  of  the  rest, 
with  the  exception  that  two  other  insignia  were  conferred 
upon  him  as  the  future  ruler.  One  of  these  was  an  axe 
with  a  blade  of  copper,  which  was  put  into  his  hands 
while  the  word  "Aucca-cunapac"  was  pronounced;  a 
word  pregnant  with  meaning  in  so  far  as  it  signified  "for 
the  punishment  of  tyrants,  traitors,  the  cruel,  the  per- 
fidious, and  the  false."  "All  this  and  much  more  is 
meant  by  the  word  *aucca,'  "  writes  Garcilasso.  The 
second  was  the  fringe  of  yellow  wool  which  was  bound 
upon  his  temples. 

In  the  matter  of  the  upbringing  of  their  children  the 
Peruvians  were  by  no  means  over-indulgent.  Infants 
were  kept  fastened  in  their  cradles,  and  were  never 
taken  in  the  mother's  arms  when  fed,  because  it  was 
thought  that  otherwise  they  would  want  continually 
to  be  nursed.  As  soon  as  the  infant  was  weaned,  an 
important  ceremony,  including  the  ritual  shearing  of 
the  hair,  took  place.  At  this,  the  first  lock  was  cut 
with  a  stone  knife  by  one  of  the  elder  relations,  who 
stood  to  the  child  in  the  relation  of  godfather,  and  the 
rest  of  the  relations  followed  in  order  of  precedence. 


ii6  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

Or,  according  to  another  account,  the  ceremony  was 
inaugurated  by  the  eldest  uncle.  After  this  the  child 
received  a  name,  and  the  proceedings  terminated  with 
a  feast  at  which  presents  were  given  to  him.  In  the  case 
of  the  heir  to  the  empire  these  gifts  were  exceedingly 
magnificent,  and  included  offerings  brought  or  sent  by 
the  various  provincial  Cura9a  ;  while  the  high-priest  of 
the  Sun  cut  the  first  lock  from  his  head.  For  the  children 
of  the  Inca  nobility,  special  schools  were  erected  in 
Cuzco,  where  instruction  in  religion,  history,  the  arts 
of  war  and  government,  was  given  them  by  special 
professors.  They  were  also  taught  to  read  the  quipus 
to  some  extent,  and  were  trained  in  astrology  and  music. 
The  foundation  of  these  schools  was  associated  with 
the  name  of  the  Inca  Rocca,  and  Pachacuti  is  said  to 
have  reorganized  and  extended  them  ;  but  it  is  prob- 
able that  some  such  form  of  instruction  for  the  youths 
of  the  ruling  class  existed  before,  on  lines  similar  to 
that  practised  by  certain  more  primitive  peoples,  as,  to 
give  one  instance,  the  Whare-kura  of  the  Maori.  In 
fact  Montesinos  states  that  the  42nd  ruler  of  his  early 
list  founded  a  "university"  at  Cuzco,  and  that  the  78th 
re-established  it  at  Tampu-tocco.  The  children  of  the 
provincial  Cura9a  were  allowed  to  share  in  this  instruc- 
tion, but  the  rest  of  the  population  were  excluded  from 
any  part  in  "higher  education."  It  was  held  sufficient 
to  teach  them  the  employments  of  their  fathers,  and  the 
rulers  feared  that  by  over-education  they  might  "  be- 
come proud  and  endanger  the  commonwealth."  This  was 
part  of  the  price  they  had  to  pay  for  the  benefits  which 
they  received  under  the  communal  system. 


CHAPTER  VI— PERU  :   DAILY  LIFE  AND 
OCCUPATIONS 

THE  Peruvians  were  primarily  agriculturists,  and 
though  the  valleys  were  extremely  fertile,  yet 
throughout  the  greater  part  of  the  country  cultivation 
was  carried  on  under  difficulties.  Large  tracts  of  the  in- 
terior were  situated  at  such  an  altitude  that  maize  could 
not  ripen  there,and,  under  ordinary  circumstances,  were 
unable  to  support  a  large  population.  On  the  rainless 
coast  agriculture  was,  normally,  only  possible  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  rivers,  none  too  numerous,  which 
had  their  sources  in  the  mountains ;  and  their  fertilizing 
influence  extended  but  a  short  distance  from  their  actual 
banks.  Where  the  climate  was  favourable,  the  very 
uneven  nature  of  the  country,  and  the  steepness  of  the 
mountain-slopes,  rendered  special  measures  necessary 
for  the  retention  of  the  soil,  and  here  too  arrangements 
had  to  be  made  for  irrigation. 

For  agricultural  purposes  a  threefold  division  of  the 
land  was  made.  Certain  tracts  throughout  the  empire  were 
reserved  for  the  Sun,  and  the  revenues  from  these  were 
devoted  to  the  maintenance  of  the  temples  and  ministers 
of  the  state  religion.  Part  of  the  remainder  was  divided 
among  the  population  at  large  according  to  their  needs  ; 
and  the  rest  was  royal  property.  Each  head  of  a  family 
received  a  plot  for  himself,  with  additional  plots  for 
each  child.  When  a  son  married,  he  took  over  the  con- 
trol of  that  portion  which  his  father  had  received  at  his 
birth,  but  when  a  daughter  married,  her  portion  lapsed 
to  the  state.  If  the  population  of  a  neighbourhood 
increased,  part  of  thecro  wn-lands  passed  into  their  hands. 

117 


ii8  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

The  cultivation  of  the  land,  like  everything  else,  was 
controlled  by  special  officials,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the 
village  laboured  in  common.  The  local  "church-lands" 
received  thefirstattention,and  nextthelandsapportioned 
for  the  use  of  the  villagers.  Even  here  a  certain  pre- 
cedence was  observed,  in  that  the  fields  of  the  widows, 
agedandsick,  camefirst.  Thisrule  was  carefully  observed, 
and  Garcilasso  mentions  that,  in  the  time  of  Huayna 
Ccapac,  a  local  official  of  Chachapoyas  was  hanged  because 
he  arranged  that  the  lands  of  a  certain  Cura9a,  to  whom 
he  was  related,  should  be  tilled  before  those  of  a  widow. 
The  crown-lands  came  last.  From  these  crown-lands  the 
ruler  portioned  out  estates  to  the  members  of  the 
nobility  and  the  provincial  Curaga,  and  the  produce  of 
what  remained  was  reserved  for  his  own  maintenance, 
the  needs  of  the  army,  and  the  relief  of  famine.  Each 
day  the  local  overseer  announced  which  fields  were  to 
receiveattention ;  themen  assembled  with  their  digging- 
sticks,  long  stakes  with  sharpened  points  and  a  foot- 
rest,  and,  acting  in  concert  to  the  cadence  of  a  song, 
proceeded  to  turn  up  long  furrows.  The  women  fol- 
lowed behind  to  break  up  the  clods  and  pick  out  the 
weeds.  Later  when  the  crop  was  sowed — and  where 
seed  was  lacking  it  was  supplied  from  the  state  gran- 
aries— the  services  of  the  less  able-bodied  were  em- 
ployed to  scare  the  birds  from  the  growing  crops.  On 
the  coast  the  digging-sticks  were  often  shod  with  copper 
blades,  many  of  which  have  been  discovered,  and  textiles 
have  been  found  with  inwoven  scenes  depicting  cultiva- 
tion. On  these  are  seen  men  equipped  with  such  spades 
working  among  the  crops,  while  others,  armed  with 
blow-guns  and  slings, protect  the  produce  from  the  birds 
fluttering  among  the  leaves.  Every  available  inch  of 
fertile  ground  was  used  for  cultivation  where  the  climate 
allowed,  and  we  are  even  told  that  one  of  the  Inca  or- 
dered the  destruction  of  a  number  of  villages  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Cuzco  in  order  that  the  land  might 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS    119 

be  devoted  to  agricultural  purposes.  One  of  the  chief 
features  of  the  Peruvian  landscape  is  constituted  by  the 
terraced  mountain-slopes.  Here  long  series  of  parallel 
walls  were  built  of  rough  stones,  one  above  the  other, 
each  inclining  slightly  inwards  in  order  to  support  the 
weight  of  the  earth  with  which  the  space  between  it 
and  the  hill-side  was  filled.  By  this  means  a  series  of 
horizontal  surfaces,  similar  to  a  flight  of  stairs,  was 
obtained,  decreasing  in  depth  as  the  mountain  was 
ascended.  These  terraces,calledlocally(2«(i^«^j, belonged 
mainly  to  the  state,  since  they  had  been  constructed  by 
state-labour.  One  terrace  could  be  reached  from  the 
next  by  rude  stair-ways  of  flat  stones  projecting  from 
the  face  of  the  containing-wall,  and  the  whole  were 
watered  by  an  extensive  irrigation-system. 

The  aqueducts  of  Peru  constitute  a  feature  which  has 
deservedly  moved  the  wondering  admiration  of  the 
early  chroniclers.  By  their  means  alone  was  the  coast 
enabled  to  support  the  large  population  which  existed 
there  before  the  Spanish  conquest;  and  it  is  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  Spaniards  failed  to  maintain  the 
system  that  large  tracts  of  country,  formerly  reclaimed 
from  the  desert,  are  now  abodes  of  utter  desolation  (see 
PI.  XIV).  Many  of  these  aqueducts  and  reservoirs  on 
the  coast  dated  from  pre-Inca  times,  but  the  Inca  did 
much  to  extend  the  range  of  their  utility  ;  some  have 
survived  to  the  present  day,  though  the  source  whence 
they  draw  their  water  has  in  many  cases  never  been  dis- 
covered. In  a  note  in  his  edition  of  Cieza  de  Leon, 
Sir  Clements  Markham  describes  the  irrigation  system 
of  the  Nasca  valley.  "In  1853  I  examined  the  irriga- 
tion channels  of  this  valley  very  carefully.  All  that 
nature  has  supplied  in  the  way  of  water  is  a  small  water- 
course which  is  frequently  dry  for  six  years  together  ; 
and  at  best  only  a  little  streamlet  trickles  down  during 
the  month  of  February.  The  engineering  skill  displayed 
by  the  Incas  in  remedying  this  defect  is  astonishing. 


I20  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHyEOLOGY 

Deep  trenches  were  cut  along  the  whole  length  of  the 
valley,  and  so  far  into  the  mountains  that  the  present 
inhabitants  have  no  knowledge  of  the  place  where  they 
commence.  High  up  in  the  valley  the  main  trenches 
or puquios  are  some  four  feet  in  height,  with  floor,  roof 
and  sides  lined  with  stones.  Lower  down  they  are  sepa- 
rated into  smaller  fuquiosvihAch.  ramify  in  every  direction 
over  the  valley,  and  supply  all  the  estates  with  delicious 
water  throughout  the  year,  feeding  the  little  streams 
which  irrigate  the  fields.  The  larger  puquios  are  several 
feet  below  the  surface,  and  at  intervals  of  about  two 
hundred  yards  there  are  manholes,  ojos,  by  which  work- 
men can  get  down  into  the  channels  and  clear  away  any 
obstruction."  Inland  there  were  aqueducts  of  even 
greater  extent ;  Garcilasso  mentions  one  constructed  by 
the  Inca  Uiracocha,  which  was  twelve  feet  deep  and  wide, 
and  traversed  a  distance  of  no  less  than  one  hundred  and 
fifty  leagues.  In  this  part  of  the  country,  too,  the  diffi- 
culties which  the  engineers  had  to  surmount  were  more 
considerable.  The  principle  of  the  arch  was  unknown 
to  the  Inca,  and  they  were  consequently  unable  to  carry 
their  watercourses  across  a  ravine  of  any  dimensions. 
Thus  if  the  bed  of  a  stream  were  encountered,  they  were 
forced  to  make  a  long  detour  so  as  to  carry  the  aque- 
duct round  its  source.  The  aqueducts  were  furnished 
with  sluices  which  enabled  the  flow  into  the  subsidiary 
channels  to  be  regulated.  Experience  had  taught  the 
Peruvians  how  much  water  was  necessary  for  the  irriga- 
tion of  a  given  quantity  of  land,  and  each  land-holder 
was  allowed  the  flow  for  a  period  corresponding  to  the 
size  of  his  holding.  If  he  neglected  to  make  proper  use 
of  the  supply,  he  was  liable  to  punishment  by  flogging. 
Besides  the  principle  of  irrigation, the  Peruvianswere 
also  familiar  with  that  of  manuring  the  crop.  This  too 
seems  to  have  been  practised  by  the  coast  people  before 
the  Inca  conquest.  The  desert  sand  near  the  sea  was 
removed  until  the  moist  subsoil  was  laid  bare  ;  in  this 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS   121 

small  holes  were  made,  and  in  each  were  placed  a  few 
grains  of  maize  together  with  the  head  of  a  small 
sardine-like  fish  which  occurs  in  great  numbers  on  the 
coast.  But  besides  fish-manure,  the  great  stores  of 
guano  found  on  the  islands  off  the  coast  were  freely 
utilized.  Under  the  Inca  rule  the  various  islands  were 
apportioned  among  the  different  coastal  villages,  and 
trespass  was  severely  punished.  Inland  other  forms  of 
manure  were  used. 

A  large  variety  of  crops  was  cultivated  throughout 
the  empire,  but,  where  the  climate  allowed,  maize,  of 
several  kinds,  formed  the  staple  produce.  In  the  loftier 
altitudes  of  the  interior,  however,  maize  could  not  be 
grown,  but  the  hardy  quinoa,  a  kind  of  buckwheat, 
took  its  place.  Here  too  the  potato  flourished  as  well 
as  in  the  lower  country,  and  the  oca,  another  tuber,  was 
also  of  economical  importance  where  it  could  be  grown. 
Maize  was  usually  eaten  whole,  roast  or  boiled,  owing 
to  the  labour  involved  in  grinding  ;  from  the  grain  was 
prepared  the  national  drink  of  the  country,  chicha  ;  the 
leaves  were  eaten  as  a  vegetable,  and  another  form  of 
intoxicating  beverage  was  extracted  from  them  after 
they  had  been  chewed  by  the  women  ;  from  the  stalk 
a  syrup  was  expressed  ;  and  from  the  immature  grains 
an  oil  was  manufactured.  Quinoa  was  usually  eaten  in 
the  form  of  porridge,  but  chicha  was  also  made  from  it 
when  maize  could  not  be  procured.  From  the  potato  a 
preparation  was  made  called  c/2««o,  which  even  now  forms 
the  staple  food  in  the  high  country  of  the  Collao.  The 
process  was  as  follows:  after  being  exposed  for  some  time 
to  the  frost,  the  potatoes  were  pounded  and  dried  in  the 
sun.  So  treated,  they  provided  a  fare  which,  if  extremely 
insipid,  was  at  any  rate  nourishing,  and  could  be  stored 
for  a  considerable  length  of  time.  Manioc,  ground-nuts, 
beans,  gourds,  tomatoes  and  the  guava,  were  also 
reared  in  the  localities  which  suited  them.  A  plant  of 
considerable  economical  importance  was  the  maguey, 


122  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

or  American  aloe  ;  the  pith  was  much  used  by  wood- 
carvers  ;  the  sap  of  the  leaves  was  employed  as  a 
medicine  ;  and  the  fibre  was  made  into  ropes,  string, 
and  thread  for  weaving.  Syrup  and  a  kind  of  vinegar 
were  also  extracted  from  it,  and  the  roots  when  pounded 
furnished  a  soap  and  a  hair-dye.  But  the  most  highly- 
prized  product  of  Peruvian  agriculture  was  the  coca, 
the  narcotic  and  sustaining  properties  of  which  are  well 
known  to  medical  science  at  the  present  day.  The 
leaves  were  chewed,  together  with  lime  or  bone-ash,^ 
and  were  held  in  such  estimation  that  they  were  re- 
served for  the  Inca.  Large  plantations  were  prepared, 
especially  in  the  eastern  province,  and  were  tended  with 
the  greatest  care  ;  the  leaves  were  plucked  one  by  one, 
dried  in  the  sun  and  preserved  in  baskets.  Coca  figured 
as  an  offering  in  most  religious  ceremonies. 

But  the  Peruvians  were  also  a  pastoral  people,  and 
their  flocks  were  of  the  greatest  importance  to  them. 
The  fauna  of  Peru  includes  a  species  which  may  be  re- 
garded as  typical  of  the  country.  This  is  a  species  of 
ruminant,  allied  to  the  camel  and  known  by  the  general 
name  of  llama  ;  and  its  appearance  is  too  v/ell  known 
from  the  specimens  present  in  all  zoological  gardens  to 
need  a  particular  description.  There  are  in  fact  two 
species,  both  wild,  the  huanaco  and  the  vicuna,  but 
two  domestic  varieties  of  the  huanaco  existed  in  great 
numbers,  the  llama  proper  and  the  alpaca.  Of  the  two 
latter  the  llama  was  the  larger,  and  was  employed  chiefly 
as  a  beast  of  burden,  though  its  wool  was  used  for  cloth- 
ing, and  its  flesh  for  eating  and  as  an  offering  to  the 
gods.  The  alpaca  furnished  a  larger  fleece,  but  the  finest 
garments,  reserved  for  the  Inca,  were  made  from  that 
of  the  vicuna.  From  the  wool  of  the  huanaco,  cloth  of 
a  coarse  quality  was  woven,  and  the  flesh  was  also  an 
important  article  of  diet,  though  it  was  not  esteemed  so 

^  It  has  been  said  that  lime  was  not  used  in  times  previous  to  the 
conquest. 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS   123 

good  as  that  of  the  llama.  At  the  time  of  the  Spanish 
conquest  the  herds  of  llama  and  alpaca  had  attained 
enormous  proportions  in  the  highland  country,  herds  of 
five  hundred  being  considered  of  no  account ;  on  the 
coast  the  animals  could  not  live,  owing  to  the  heat,  but 
remains  have  been  found  there  of  individuals  which 
must  have  been  imported  for  sacrificial  purposes  under 
the  Inca  rule.  As  the  only  beast  of  burden  in  the  coun- 
try, the  llama  was  invaluable,  especially  as  it  is  very 
tractable,  easy  to  feed,  and  exceedingly  sure-footed,  a 
quality  much  to  be  desired  among  the  dizzy  heights  of 
the  inland  roads.  For  carrying  purposes  it  required  no 
harness,  the  load  was  simply  arranged  in  a  cloth  so  that 
it  hung  in  two  equal  portions  on  each  side  of  the  animal's 
body.  On  long  journeys  as  many  as  twenty-five  beasts 
were  allowed  to  one  load,  since  the  animal  is  not  capable 
of  great  endurance,  and  it  was  therefore  necessary  to 
make  frequent  changes.  The  llama  and  alpaca  were 
classed  according  to  colour,  and,  if  an  animal  were  pro- 
duced which  differed  from  the  rest  of  the  herd  in  this 
respect,  it  was  transferred  to  another  flock.  The  wild 
species  were  hunted,  together  with  other  game. 

Drives  were  organized  on  a  large  scale  in  which  the 
ruler  often  took  part,  and  in  which  fifty  or  sixty  thou- 
sand beaters  were  employed  and  as  many  as  thirty 
thousand  head  of  game  were  taken.  The  chief  quarry 
was  the  huanaco  and  vicuna,  of  which  the  females  and 
the  best  males  were  merely  sheared  and  let  go,  but  the 
beasts  of  prey,  such  as  pumas,  bears,  foxes,  and  wild- 
cats, were  killed.  When  the  beaters,  after  traversing  a 
wide  expanse  of  country,  had  penned  the  game  within 
a  narrow  circle,  the  animals  were  secured  by  means  of 
the  tolas  or  killed  with  sticks  and  clubs.  The  wool  of 
the  huanaco,  being  coarse,  was  divided  among  the 
common  people,  that  of  the  vicuna  was  reserved  for  the 
Inca,  who  shared  it  with  the  members  of  his  family,  and 
no  one  was  allowed  to  wear  garments  made  of  it  with- 


124  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

out  permission.  The  flesh  of  the  animals  killed  was  eaten 
by  those  who  participated  in  the  hunt,  but  quantities 
of  it  were  also  dried  and  preserved  in  the  storehouses 
for  the  use  of  troops  on  the  march.  Meat  so  preserved 
was  called  charqui^  a  word  which  is  of  particular  interest, 
since  from  it  is  derived  our  term  "jerked"  beef.  These 


Fig.  8. — Hunting  scene,  from  a  vase,  Truxillo. 

hunts  took  place  only  at  stated  intervals  in  order  to 
allow  time  for  the  fleeces  of  the  huanaco  and  vicuna  to 
grow.  The  llama  and  alpaca  were  also  sheared  periodi- 
cally. 

In  the  matter  of  the  herds,  as  in  other  respects,  the 
Spaniards  showed'  their  usual  improvidence,  and  the 
numbers  were  sadly  reduced  within  a  very  short  period 
after  the  conquest. 

An  interesting  hunting  scene  is  shown  in  Fig.  8,  a 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS   125 

vase-painting  dating  from  the  pre-Inca  period  of  the 
coast.  Here  a  hunter  is  seen  armed  with  a  spear-thrower 
and  hurling  darts  at  deer  within  the  circle  of  hunting- 
nets. 

Dogs  were  used  for  hunting,  and  it  is  noteworthy 
that  remains  of  three  varieties  of  dog,  all  differing 
from  that  of  Europe,  have  been  found  on  the  coast. 
The  largest  of  these  was  an  animal  of  medium  size 
with  slender  head  and  legs,  and  was  probably  used 
for  watching  the  house  (and,  in  the  interior,  the  herds) 
and  for  hunting.  The  second  was  a  short-legged  dog, 
somewhat  resembling  a  dachshund,  which,  to  judge 
from  a  vase-painting,  was  also  used  in  the  chase.  The 
third  was  a  kind  of  pug,  probably  kept  as  a  lap-dog. 

Besides  hunting,  fowling  by  means  of  nets  was  largely 
practised,  especially  on  the  coast,  where  the  abundance 
of  bird-life  is  reflected  by  the  designs  on  the  pottery  and 
textiles(Pl.  XX,2and  3).  The  blunt  arrow-heads  found 
on  the  coast  were  probably  used  for  birds  (PI.  XXVI, 4). 
But  in  the  maritime  districts  fishing  ranked  next  in  im- 
portance after  agriculture.  For  this  purpose  balsas,  as 
described  on  p.  60,  were  used,  but  they  were  quite  small 
and  carried  only  one  or  two  passengers  ;  sails  were  not 
in  use.  This  form  of  craft  is  still  seen  on  lake  Titicaca 
(PI.  XIII,  i).  According  to  Garcilasso  the  harpoon  was 
the  principal  apparatus  employed,  one  of  which  made  of 
copper  with  two  barbs  is  shown  in  PI.  XXVI,  6,  together 
with  another  with  stone  head  and  copper  barb  (PI.  X  XVI , 
8) ;  but  small  nets  and  hooks  were  also  used.  The  hooks 
were  of  bone  or  copper,  and  were  furnished  with  a  stone 
sinker  (PI.  XXVI,  5),  but  no  information  is  forthcoming 
as  to  the  baits  employed.  The  fishing  appliances  on  PI. 
XXVI  come  from  Arica,  and  are  akin  to  the  culture  of 
the  Chilean  coast;  butobjectsof  asimilar  type  were  used 
further  north  also.  A  spirited  fishing  scene  is  shown  in 
the  vase-painting  reproduced  in  Fig.  9.  Here  a  coast- 
Indian  kneels  on  a  balsa  constructed  of  reeds  ;  he  is 


126  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS    127 

hauling  at  a  line  at  the  other  end  of  which  is  a  hook 
firmly  fixed  in  the  jaws  of  a  monstrous  fish.  Bird- 
headed  creatures,  probably  sea-spirits,  assist  in  the  pro- 


FlG.  10. — Warriors  fighting,  from  a  vase,  Truxillo. 

pulsion  of  his  craft,  which  by  the  addition  of  grotesque 
heads  has  been  given  the  semblance  of  a  sea-monster. 
The  dress  of  the  Peruvians  was  based  upon  two  gar- 
ments, the  robe  and  the  tunic.  The  latter  was  in  its 
simplest  form  an  oblong  strip  of  cloth,  folded  across  the 


128  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

shorter  diameter,  and  sewn  down  the  sides  ;  a  hole  was 
made  in  the  centre  for  the  head,  and  the  side  seams  were 
left  open  at  the  top  corners  for  the  arms  (e.g.  Fig.  lo, 
left-hand  figures).  Short  sleeves  were  sometimes  added 
(e.g.  Fig.  8).  The  tunic  was  often  confined  with  a  belt, 
which  in  the  art  of  the  coast  is  often  represented  as  a 
double-headed  snake  (Fig.  lo),  and  the  men  usually 
wore  a  very  abbreviated  form  of  breeches  (as  in  the  same 
illustration).  The  tunic  of  the  women  reached  nearly  to 
the  feet,  and  a  robe  was  worn  over  this  also.  Speaking 
generally  the  material  used  on  the  coast  was  cotton,  in 
the  interior,  wool,  but  the  conquest  of  the  country  by  the 
Inca  had  brought  about  a  considerable  interchange  of 
products  at  the  time  of  the  discovery.  Naturally  there 
was  considerable  difference  in  the  quality  of  clothing, 
according  to  the  rank  of  the  wearer;  only  the  coarser 
forms  of  cloth  were  allowed  to  the  peasantry,  while  the 
finest  of  all  was  reserved  for  the  Inca.  Ornament 
varied  in  the  same  degree  ;  some  of  the  best  textiles, 
especially  those  of  the  coast,  are  gorgeous  in  the  ex- 
treme, displaying  great  variety  of  colour  and  inwoven 
designs  (Fig.  23),  with  fringed  and  embroidered  decora- 
tion, and  further  ornamented  with  feathers  and  small 
plates  of  silver  and  gold.  In  the  interior,  however,  the 
colours  were  far  more  sober,  browns,  yellows  and  dark 
reds  predominating.  Feathers  were  applied  to  cloth 
to  form  mosaic  designs,  and  head-dresses  of  this  work, 
crowned  with  plumes,  form  some  of  the  handsomest 
objects  yielded  by  the  graves  in  the  coast  valleys 
(PI.  IX,  3).  It  has  already  been  remarked  that  the  in- 
habitants of  different  regions  could  be  distinguished 
by  their  form  of  head-dress.  On  the  coast  before  the 
Inca  conquest  a  greater  latitude  was  allowed,  to  judge 
from  the  pottery  (Pis.  XXI  and  XXII).  Conical  or  flat- 
topped  caps  seem  to  prevail,  frequently  with  flaps  cover- 
ing the  ears  and  back  of  the  head  and  sometimes  passing 
under  the  chin  so  that  the  features  alone  could  be  seen. 


PLATE  X 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS   129 

Some  such  form  of  head-dress  musthave  been  preserved 
under  the  Inca,  since  Cieza  states  that  the  Yunca  went 
"  muffled  like  gipsies."  Inland,  in  the  Collao,  close- 
fitting  conical  caps  with  ear-flaps  were  also  worn,  a  pat- 
tern which  has  survived  to  the  present  day  (PI.  XIII,  2), 
but  there  were  small  local  differences.  The  people  ot 
Andahuaylas  wore  their  hair  in  a  number  of  plaits  made 
up  with  woollen  cords,  while  those  of  Urcos  were  dis- 
tinguished by  a  black  fillet.  The  Huanca  wore  a  sort 
of  wreath  of  wool,  about  three  inches  broad  ;  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Caxamarca,  a  fillet  composed  of  a  number  of 
cords,  while  those  of  Chachapoyas  confined  their  hair 
by  means  of  a  sling,  a  weapon  with  which  they  were 
particularly  expert.  The  llautu^  or  fringed  braids,  which 
were  worn  by  the  ruler  and  his  heir  have  already  been 
mentioned,  and  it  must  here  be  stated  that  the  govern- 
ing class  were  also  permitted  towear  a  braid  coiled  round 
the  head.  The  significance  of  this  ornament  lay  in  the 
colour,  red  for  the  reigning  Inca,  yellow  for  the  heir, 
and  black  for  the  highest  class  of  nobles.  The  hair  it- 
self was  cut  according  to  rank,  and,  contrary  to  the 
Colombian  custom,  its  length  varied  inversely  with  the 
status  of  the  individual.  Thus  a  closely-cropped  head 
was  the  privilege  of  the  ruler,  and  more  flowing  locks 
the  badge  of  servitude.  Women  wore  the  hair  long. 
The  ear-stud  was  another  sign  of  high  rank,  and  no  one 
was  allowed  to  wear  one  of  these  ornaments  equal  in  size 
to  those  of  the  ruler.  But  though  the  right  to  wear  the 
ear-stud  was  generally  confined  to  the  Inca  class,  it  was 
sometimes  conferred  upon  the  inhabitants  of  a  district  as 
a  special  mark  of  favour.  Thus  the  people  of  the  Yucay 
valley  were  granted  the  privilege,  while  the  Quichua, 
in  return  for  their  services  against  the  invading  Chanca, 
were  not  only  allowed  to  wear  ear-studs,  but  also  to  bear 
a  llautu  of  a  certain  pattern  and  to  wear  their  hair  short- 
er than  other  tribes.  The  pottery  of  the  coast  shows 
that  studs  were  worn  in  the  ears  (PI.  XXI)  and  lower  lip 


I30  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

(similar  to  Fig.  33,  /*),  and  that  the  nose  was  pierced  for 
the  reception  of  gold  ornaments  similar  to  those  of  the 
Colombian  tribes,  in  the  days  before  the  Inca  conquest. 


Fig.  II. — a  Stone  figure  of  llama,  inlaid.  [British  Musetim. 

b  Necklace  of  shell,  wood  and  turquoise. 

c-f  Copper  pins. 

g  Mosaic  ear-stud. 

h  and  i  Silver  tweezers. 

k  Bone  balance-beam  with  "  pans  "  of  netting. 

In  the  maritime  districts  ear-studs  were  usually  of  wood, 
carved  in  open-work,  or  inlaid  with  shell  and  turquoise 
(Fig.  1 1 ,  g).  Beards  and  moustaches  were  not  worn,  but 
the  hair  was  plucked  out  by  means  of  small  silver  and 
copper  tweezers,  of  which  numbers  have  been  found, 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS   131 

especially  in  the  coastal  region  (Fig.  11,^  and  i).  The 
coast  people  of  early  days  seem  to  have  been  peculiar  in 
wearing  stockings,  unless  indeed  the  markings  on  the 
legs  of  the  figures  represented  in  the  vase-paintings  are 
meant  for  painted  ornament  (Figs,  i  o  and  1 5),  but  some 
form  of  foot-covering  was  universal  throughout  Peru. 
Sandals,  called  usutas,  were  made  of  llama  hide  or  vege- 
table fibre,  very  similar  to  those  worn  by  the  monastic 
orders  in  Europe,  were  fastened  to  the  feet  by  means  of 
cords.  The  early  coast  people,  however,  seem  to  have 
evolved  a  kind  of  slipper,  which  was  worn  probably  by 
the  more  important  men. 

Many  forms  of  ornament  besides  those  mentioned 
above  were  in  vogue,  and  again  the  graves  of  the  coast 
have  provided  more  evidence  than  those  of  the  interior. 
Necklaces  (Fig.  11,  ^)  of  small  beads  of  coloured  shell 
and  turquoise  are  coMmon,  often  interspersed  with 
larger  beads  of  carvea  wood  and  shell  in  the  form  of 
animals  and  human  faces,  of  which  the  details  are  inlaid 
with  shell  of  another  colour  or  with  turquoise.  Finger- 
rings,  anklets  and  bracelets  of  silver  and  gold  are  also 
found,  while  the  pins  used  by  women  for  fastening  their 
cloaks  arecommon  throughout  the  country  (Fig.  i  lyC-f). 
These  are  of  two  principal  types,  one  with  a  flat  semi- 
circular head,  the  other  with  a  head  modelled  to  re- 
present that  of  a  llama,  the  latter  being  more  common 
in  the  highlands.  These  are  made  of  silver  or,  more 
frequently,  of  copper,  and  were  called  topo.  Head-de- 
formation was  practised  locally,  principally  on  the  coast 
and  in  the  Collao.  The  maritime  people  applied  boards 
to  the  heads  of  their  infants  so  that  a  flattening  was  pro- 
duced along  the  forehead  and  at  the  back  of  the  head, 
while  a  corresponding  expansion  took  place  at  the  sides 
(PI.  X,  I  and  2).  In  the  Collao  the  fashion  was  difi*erent ; 
here  the  aim  was  to  prolong  the  crown  in  the  form  of 
a  cone  (PI.  X,  3  and  4).  The  extent  of  distortion  pro- 
duced in  either  case  was  considerable,  and  skulls  have 


132  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHi^.OLOGY 

been  found  which  exhibit  an  almost  incredible  degree  of 
deformity.  Tattooing  also  was  practised  on  the  coast, 
patterns  similar  to  those  on  the  textiles  being  produced 
in  a  bluish  pigment. 

The  subject  of  habitations  next  arises,  a  subject  which 
it  is  extremely  difficult  to  treat  shortly,  and  at  the  same 
time  to  give  an  idea  of  the  astonishing  facility  with  which 


Fig.  12. — Plan  of  Inca  dwelling,  near  Ollantaitambo. 

the  Peruvians  of  the  inland  region,  possessing  no  metal 
but  copper  for  the  manufacture  of  tools,^  and  relying 
solely  on  human  labour  for  the  traction  of  great  weights, 
handled  enormous  masses  of  stone.  Speaking  generally 
the  buildings  on  the  coast  are  composed  of  clay,  those 
of  the  highlands,  of  stone,  and  this  antithesis  holds  true 
to  the  extent  that  after  the  Inca  had  conquered  the  coast, 

^  The  copper,  as  will  be  seen  later,  nearly  always  contains  an  element 
of  tin,  and  is  therefore  a  bronze  ;  but  this  element  was  purely  accidental^ 
and  not  intentionally  added  as  an  alloy. 


ri.AlE    XI 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS  133 

they  erected  there  buildings  of  the  type  characteristic  of 
their  own  region,  but  of  the  local  materials  (PI.  XIV  and 
XVI,  1).  Nevertheless  along  the  whole  coast  there  is  no 
important  site  where  stone  was  not  employed  to  some 
extent  in  building,  though  its  use  was  usually  confined 
to  the  foundations  of  walls.  Inland  the  more  humble 
dwellings  were  constructed  of  stones  of  convenient  size 
piled  together  with  or  without  mortar,  and  furnished 
with  a  gabled  roof  of  thatch.  Some  of  the  buildings  of 
this  character  still  remain  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
Ollantaitambo  (PI.  XI  and  Fig.  1 2).  Here  the  buildings 
forming  a  dwelling  are  arranged  round  a  court  and  en- 
closed with  a  wall ;  the  principal  building  is  furnished 
with  an  upper  storey,  approached  from  the  outside  by 
means  of  a  stairway  of  stone  slabs  projecting  from  the 
enclosing  wall  (PI.  XI,  i ,  and  Fig.  1 2,  (2,  a).  Some  of  the 
rooms  are  provided  with  small  windows,  giving  on  the 
court,and  the  walls  are  furnished  with  a  series  of  niches, 
probably  used  as  cupboards,  alternating  with  project- 
ing stones  pierced  vertically.  The  position  of  these 
pierced  stones  is  marked  on  the  plan.  Fig.  1 2,  by  dots  ;  in 
them  were  probably  fitted  pegs  to  which  the  looms  were 
attached.  The  dwellingsof  the  more  important  men, and 
especially  the  palaces  of  the  Inca,  were  far  more  elabor- 
ate. On  the  island  of  Titicaca,  in  the  lake  of  that  name, 
is  a  building  of  which  the  main  features  can  still  be 
traced.  It  is  rectangular  in  plan,  and  divided  into  a 
number  of  similar  apartments.  These  apartments  are 
arranged  in  isolated  series,  and  the  rooms  of  each  series 
are  interconnected,  and  approached  by  an  outside  door. 
The  ceilings  are  vaulted,  not  by  means  of  a  true  arch, 
which  was  unknown  to  the  Peruvians,  but  by  making 
the  upper  courses  of  masonry  overlap  inwards  until  the 
space  could  be  bridged  by  a  single  slab.  On  the  surface 
so  obtained  a  second  series  of  rooms  was  built,  with  an 
open  promenade  in  front  from  which  a  magnificent  view 
of  the  lake  and  the  surrounding  mountains  could  be  ob- 


134  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

tained.  This  upper  storey  was  approached,  not  from  the 
ground-floor,  but  from  the  hill  against  which  the  palace 
was  built.  The  doors  are  of  the  characteristic  Inca  pat- 
tern, with  jambs  inclining  inwards  (as  the  niche  in  PI. 
XIII,  2), bridged  with  a  single  stone  slab  as  lintel, and  the 
rooms  are  furnished  with  numerous  niches, and  also  win- 
dows, of  similar  shape.  In  this  case  clay  has  been  used  as 
mortar,and  the  whole  covered  with  a  yellow  stucco,  while 
the  recessed  portions  of  the  doorways  have  been  coloured 
red.  Not  all  the  palaces  were  stuccoed,  and  in  such  cases 
no  mortar  was  used,  but  the  regularity  of  the  stone-laying 
was  remarkable.  It  is  noteworthy  that  the  principle  of 
bonding  the  corners  of  buildings,  of  which  the  Mexi- 
cans were  ignorant,  was  well  known  to  the  Peruvians. 
Most  of  the  palaces  in  Cuzco  were  of  this  latter  type, 
a  type  which  is  well  exemplified  in  the  masonry  of  the 
Intihuatana  figured  on  PI.  XVII,  2.  Level  ground 
is  not  a  common  feature  of  the  Peruvian  Sierra,  and 
buildings  of  this  nature  were  generally  erected  on 
a  series  of  terraces,  similar  to  those  used  for  cultiva- 
tion, but  far  more  carefully  constructed.  Where  the 
terraces  were  long,  the  monotony  was  usually  broken  by 
a  series  of  niches,  such  as  appear  in  the  upper  terrace  of 
PI.  XII,  2,  and  each  terrace  was  approached  from  that 
below  by  means  of  slabs  projecting  from  the  wall,  or  by 
a  graded  way.  Even  the  most  pretentious  buildings 
were  roofed  with  thatch,  but  to  judge  from  the  roof, 
existing  until  recent  times,  of  a  ruin  known  as  the  Son- 
dor-huasi,  the  thatching  was  of  a  very  elaborate  and 
ornamental  nature.  In  this  building,  according  to  Sir 
Clements  Markham,  it  was  no  less  than  five  feet  thick, 
and  we  may  well  believe  Cieza  when  he  states  that  such 
roofs  were  impervious  to  fire.  Inside,  the  wall-spaces 
were  adequately  broken  by  niches,  and  the  walls  were 
further  ornamented  with  gold  plates  and  jewels.  The 
niche  (PI.  XIII,  2)  as  a  means  of  decoration  seems  to 
have  existed  from  the  earliest  times  ;  it  forms  the  main 


PLATE  XJI 


PERU 
Upper  Tekkace,  Fortress  ok  Oi.i.antaitambo 


J'KRU 
Lower  Terraces  :  Oi.i.antaitamko 

(From  U'ri^/ti's  '''  Old  and  Neii'  Pott,"  by  perviissioti  o/  .^.essrs.  liariy  &r  Sons) 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS   135 

feature  of  the  great  blocks  found  near  the  site  of 
Tiahuanaco  (PI.  XVIII,  i),  to  be  mentioned  later,  and 
survived  in  the  clay-built  buildings  of  Inca  times  on 
the  coast,  as  may  be  seen  in  PI.  XIV.  Many  of  the 
Inca  buildings  were  of  great  size,  and  though  figures 
are  not  attractive,  it  may  be  as  well  to  give  the  dimen- 
sions of  the  temple  erected  by  the  conqueror  of  the 
Chanca,  Uiracocha  or  Pachacuti,  in  honour  of  the  god 
Uiracocha  by  whose  aid  the  enemy  was  defeated.  This 
temple  was  peculiar  in  some  respects,  in  so  far  as  the 
greater  part  of  the  central  wall,  40  feet  high,  was  built 
of  clay  bricks.  The  shape  was  oblong,  and  the  roof 
was  gabled  ;  the  building  was  furnished  with  an  upper 
storey,  floored  with  stone  slabs,  extending  from  the 
outer  walls  to  that  in  the  centre,  and  supported  by  rows 
of  pillars.  The  central  wall  was  pierced  by  numerous 
doorways,  14  feet  high,  with,  probably,  wooden  lintels, 
and  the  length  of  the  building  was  no  less  than  330  feet 
(according  to  Squier),  the  breadth  being  87  feet. 

There  are  many  fortresses  in  the  provinces,  and  no 
general  description  is  adequate  to  picture  them,  since 
the  plan  of  each  was  adapted  to  the  particular  locality. 
One  of  the  best-preserved  is  at  Huanuco  Viejo.  This  is 
a  rectangular  building  standing  on  a  terrace  and  ap- 
proached by  a  broad  flight  of  steps.  The  walls  are  fur- 
nished with  a  cornice,  and  measure,  on  the  exterior, 
about  16  feet  high,  on  the  interior,  about  5,  since  the 
ground-level  within  has  been  artificially  raised.  Close 
at  hand  are  the  remains  of  a  town,  laid  out  in  the  usual 
orderly  manner,  with  a  palace  and  baths.  At  a  short  dis- 
tance, on  a  terraced  hill,  are  a  number  of  small  buildings, 
not  only  square  and  oblong,  but  also  round,  roughly 
built  of  unsquared  stones.  Circular  buildings  are  not 
common  in  Peru  outside  the  Collao,  where,  especially 
at  the  north  end  of  lake  Titicaca,  are  found  numbres  of 
peculiar  erections  known  as  chullpa^  usually  supposed  to 
be  the  mausolea  of  the  ancient  Colla  chiefs.  Remains  of 


136  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

two  of  these  chullpa  are  seen  in  PL  XI,  2,  and  they  were 
constructed  as  follows.  A  domed  structure  of  loose 
stones  was  first  built,  and  round  this  was  erected  a 
facing  of  beautifully  fitting  blocks,  so  as  to  form  a  tower 
greater  in  diameter  at  the  top  than  at  the  bottom,  and 
furnished  with  a  projecting  cornice  a  short  distance  be- 
low the  summit.  To  reduce  the  weight  of  these  blocks, 
their  lateral  faces  were  hollowed ;  and  the  tower  was  pro- 
vided with  two  entrances,  both  very  small.  One  of 
these  was  in  the  centre  of  the  summit,  and  was  covered 
with  a  slab.  The  other  was  at  the  foot.  The  suggestion 
has  been  made  that  they  were  granaries,  but  Squier  cer- 
tainly found  human  remains  in  most  of  those  which  he 
explored.  Square  chullpa  are  also  found.  The  Inca  were 
accustomed  occasionally  to  build  in  circular  form  ;  one 
end  of  the  great  Sun-temple  at  Cuzco  formed  a  perfect 
apse,  and  in  the  fortress  of  Chancayillo  in  the  Casma 
valley,  described  by  Squier,  there  were  two  circular 
double  towers  affording  a  view  of  the  whole  of  the  val- 
ley. These  towers  were  surrounded  by  three  walls,  the 
outer  with  five,  the  next  with  four,  and  the  inner  with 
one,  entrances,  most  of  them  protected  with  a  curtain- 
wall,  and  in  no  case  opposite  one  another.  But  by  far 
the  most  picturesque  fortress  is  that  of  Ollantaitambo 
(PL  XII),  to  the  north  of  Cuzco,  which  guarded  the  Vil- 
comayo  valley,  one  of  the  few  passes  to  the  plains  of  the 
Amazon.  The  description  of  the  locality  given  by  Squier 
is  so  good  that  it  merits  quotation.  "Their  principal 
works  were  built  ...  at  a  point  where  a  low  ridge 
extends  nearly  across  the  valley.  This  ridge  had  been 
terraced  up  with  high  vertical  walls,  rising  from  the 
very  bed  of  the  stream  on  every  side,  to  the  height  of 
nearly  one  hundred  feet.  Held  by  any  considerable 
body  of  men,  it  commanded  completely  the  passage  of 
the  valley.  The  river  pours  with  arrow-like  rapidity 
between  these  terraces  and  the  rocky  escarpment  oppo- 
site, along  the  face  of  which  runs  the  narrow  and  dizzy 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS    137 

pathway  over  which  all  travellers  to  Ollantaitambo  are 
obliged  to  pass.  From  this  point  forward  for  a  league, 
the  valley  is  narrowed  to  a  mere  cleft  between 
mountains  rising  in  rugged  masses,  but  with  almost 
vertical  fronts,  to  enormous  elevations.  The  brain  reels 
in  straining  to  discern  their  splintered  summits.  Dark 
and  chill,  this  is  one  of  the  grand  portadas,  or  mountain 
gateways,  of  the  Andes,  leading  to  the  plains  of  the 
Amazon,  of  which  the  early  chroniclers  write  with  un- 
dissembled  awe.  The  river  looks  black  and  sinister  in 
the  subdued  light,  and  its  murmur  subsides  into  a 
hollow  roar.  The  shrubs  of  broom  become  scant  and 
small,  and  their  flowers  are  few  and  mean.  In  front 
rises  forever  the  white,  ghastly,  Chicon."  Two  main 
forts  overhanging  the  river  guard  the  approach  to  the 
citadel,  which  is  built  on  a  rocky  spur.  The  citadel  is 
approached  from  the  plain  beneath  over  a  series  of 
magnificent  terraces  (PL  XII,  2),  and  is  protected  from 
above  by  a  complicated  series  of  walls  abutting  on 
precipices.  At  the  summit  of  the  terrace  is  a  confused 
series  of  ruins  and  huge  stone  blocks,  some  of  which 
can  be  seen  in  the  illustration,  and  a  platform  faced 
with  enormous  slabs  (PI.  XII,  i),  the  largest  of  which 
measures  roughly  13  by  7  by  5  feet.  Many  of  the  ruins 
date,  no  doubt,  from  pre-Inca  days  ;  not  only  do  we 
find  the  large  sculptured  blocks  characteristic  of  the 
"  megalithic  "  period,  to  which  allusion  will  be  rnade 
later,  but  another  form  of  stone-laying  appears.  Great 
polygonal  blocks  are  surrounded  by  others  of  less  mag- 
nitude, but  each  accurately  cut  to  fit  its  neighbours. 
Many  walls  of  this  type  are  found  at  Cuzco,  and  some 
idea  of  the  labour  involved  in  their  erection  may  be 
gained  from  the  illustration  on  PI.  VII,  2.  A  smaller 
polygonal  style  is  seen  in  PL  XIII,  2.  It  must  be  re- 
membered that  no  mortar  was  used  in  the  construction 
of  this  type  of  masonry,  and  that  the  joints  are  so  close 
as  not  to  admit  of  the  introduction  of  a  knife-blade 


138  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

between  the  stones.  But  the  most  stupendous  example 
of  this  type  of  building  is  presented  by  the  Sacsahua- 
man  fortress  which  guards  the  northern  approach  to 
Cuzco.  This  consists  of  three  parallel  walls,  each  over 
three  hundred  yards  long,  built  with  re-entering  angles, 
so  that  an  attacking  force  must  always  expose  its  flank 
to  the  defenders.  The  nature  of  the  masonry  can  be 
seen  in  the  illustration  PI.  XV,  and  it  need  only  be  said 
that  some  of  the  stones  at  the  salient  angles  attain 
dimensions  such  as  17  by  12  by  7  feet.  To  this  fortifica- 
tion many  additions  were  made  by  the  later  Inca, 
probably  in  the  form  of  buildings  at  the  summit  of  the 
hill,  but  it  seems  almost  certain  that  the  great  walls 
must  be  of  far  earlier  date.  Apart  from  the  fact  that 
these  blocks  required  individual  fitting,  their  trans- 
port must  have  afforded  considerable  difficulty.  It  is 
said  that  Quito  was  built  with  stones  brought  from 
Cuzco,  but  though  this  is  almost  incredible,  yet  even  the 
two  short  leagues,  which  separated  Ollantaitambo  from 
the  quarries  whence  the  red  porphyritic  blocks  were 
transported,  could  not  have  been  traversed  without  tre- 
mendous labour,  considering  the  nature  of  the  ground. 
Near  many  of  the  more  important  works,  large  stone 
blocks  lying  deserted  bear  witness  to  the  difficulty  of 
carriage,  and  were  known  by  the  picturesque  name  of 
"  tired  stones."  As  to  the  method  by  which  these  blocks 
were  extracted  from  the  quarry,  nothing  is  known,  but 
it  is  believed  that  holes  were  bored  and  wedges  of  wood 
inserted  ;  water  was  then  poured  on,  and  the  expansion 
of  the  wedges  caused  the  rock  to  split.  In  buildings  of 
what  may  be  called  the  older  type,  such  as  portions  of 
Ollantaitambo,  and  at  Tiahuanaco,  yet  to  be  described, 
T-shaped  clamps  of  copper  were  countersunk  in  the 
blocks  to  hold  them  firmly  together. 

On  the  coastverydiffisrent  conditionsprevailed.  Here 
stone  was  not  readily  procurable,  and  was  only  occasion- 
ally used  for  the  bases  of  walls  and,  mixed  with  earth,  for 


PLATE   XIII 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS   139 

the  platformson  which  the  more  Important  buildings  were 
erected.  The  earliest  remains  are  composed  of  rough 
balls  of  clay  or  mud  pressed  together  when  still  in  a  moist 
state,  but  the  majority  are  of  large  bricks  known  as  adobes. 
A  still  later  form  consisted  of  a  kind  of  concrete  of  mixed 
clay  and  pebbles,  called  pi/ca.  The  early  coast-dwellers 
were  masters  of  their  material,  and  their  buildings  were 
often  of  far  more  ornamental  a  nature  than  those  of  the 
Inca.    The  hard  and  durable  algarroba  wood  was  chiefly 


Fig.  13. — Types  of  dwellings  on  the  coast,  from  vases  ;  Truxillo. 

used  in  building,  and  also  canes  to  form  the  skeleton  of 
the  adobe  walls.  Simple  huts  were  built  entirely  of  canes 
and  roofed  with  mats ;  indeed  in  this  region,  where  rain 
was  a  rarity,  roofing  was  not  important.  A  good  idea 
of  a  dwelling  of  this  type  may  be  gathered  from  Fig.  13, 
a-c.  ay  from  a  vase,  shows  the  hut  in  section ;  the  beams 
on  which  the  roof  rests  are  supported  by  forked  poles, 
and  theexterior  of  the  roofing  is  ornamented  with  projec- 
tions resembling  club-heads,  b  and  f,  also  from  a  vase, 
give  the  exterior  of  the  building,  with  its  ornamental 
roof-crest,and  an  indication  of  the  ridge-pole  which  sup- 
ports it. 


I40  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

But  the  ruins  show  fargreater  complication.  Two  sites 
are  of  particular  importance  ;  Truxillo,  the  seat  of  the 
great  chief  Chimu,  conquered  by  the  Inca,  and  Pacha- 
camac,  the  realm  of  Culsmancu  and  the  site  of  the 
famous  temple.  The  first  has  not  been  thoroughly  sur- 
veyed, but  the  details  given  by  Squier  afford  some  indi- 
cation of  its  nature. 

The  general  plan  of  the  coast  settlementsisveryunlike 
that  of  Inca  towns.  Though  they  were  laid  out  with 
equal,  or  even  greater,  care,and  the  different  wards  were 
separated  by  streets  at  right  angles,  yet  each  ward,  even 
each  section  of  a  ward,  is  enclosed  in  its  own  containing- 
wall,  and  is  accessible  from  only  one  entrance.  Chamber 
opens  from  chamber  and  court  from  court  in  bewildering 
succession,andmanyenclosurescan  have  been  approached 
only  along  the  walls  of  the  rest.  The  presence  of  path- 
ways along  the  tops  of  walls  seems  to  have  been  quite 
a  feature  of  coast  architecture,  and  has  been  especially  re- 
marked at  Pachacamac.  From  the  topof  the  wall  anincline 
led  down  to  the  interior  of  the  court  or  dwelling  which 
had  no  other  entrance.  AtTruxillo  the  various  wards  were 
built  with  great  symmetry,  and  most  of  them  contained 
what  appears  to  be  2,  plaza  with,  perhaps,  shops  grouped 
round  it,  and  a  reservoir.  In  one  of  the  wards  is  an  ex- 
tensive terrace  in  which  are  rows  of  small  subterranean 
chambers,  each  entered  from  above  and  entirely  uncon- 
nected. This  has  been  supposed  to  be  a  prison,  but  was 
more  likely  a  series  of  workshops  where  the  artisans  of 
Truxillo  performed  their  appointed  tasks.  Chambers 
have  also  been  discovered  the  walls  of  which  show  traces 
of  fire,  and  the  presence  of  metallic  slagseems  to  prove 
that  they  were  furnaces  for  the  smelting  or  working  of 
metal.  The  ruins  of  Pachacamac  have  been  more  tho- 
roughly explored,  thanks  to  the  labours  of  Uhle,  the 
first  scholar  to  attempt  excavation  on  proper  scientific 
lines  in  Peru.  His  researches  both  here  and  elsewhere 
have  been  of  the  very  greatest  importance  to  South 


PLATE   XIV 


\  . 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS    141 

American  archaeology, as  will  be  seen  later  ;  for  the  pre- 
sent we  are  merely  concerned  with  the  nature  and  archi- 
tecture of  the  ruins.  The  ward  system  appears  also  in 
Pachacamac,  but  a  difference  exists  between  this  site  and 
Truxillo.  Here  we  have  a  number  of  great  terraced 
palaces,  probably  the  residences  of  nobles,  each  sur- 
rounded by  a  complexity  of  less  important  structures, 
which  must  have  been  the  dwellings  of  their  numerous 
retainers.  But  each  of  these  wards  is  surrounded  by  its 
wall,  and  can  only  be  entered  through  the  palace-gate, 
which  is,  moreover,  well  guarded  by  lesser  buildings, 
and  opens  upon  a  tortuous  passage  easily  capable  of 
defence.  It  seems  possible  that  the  ayllu-system  ex- 
tended to  the  early  coast-dwellers,  and  that  each  ward 
was  the  residence  of  a  particular  ayllu. 

It  has  been  said  that  the  Yunca  were  more  apt 
to  decorate  their  buildings  than  the  Inca.  The  finest 
examples  of  ornamentation  are  found  at  Chanchan, 
near  Truxillo,  where  the  adobe  walls  are  frequently 
covered  with  elaborate  relievo  designs  in  stucco.  A 
good  example  of  this  kind  of  work  is  shown  in  PI.  XVI, 
2.  But  some  walls  were  finished  with  a  flat  stucco 
surface  on  which  frescoes  were  painted.  Unhappily 
none  of  these  exist  in  perfect  form,  but  traces  have 
been  found  at  Truxillo,  Paramonga,  Pachacamac, 
and  elsewhere.  The  most  imposing  remains  on  the 
coast,  however,  are  the  huge  stepped  pyramids,  form- 
ing burial-places,  and  the  terraced  substructures  of  the 
temples  with  their  shrines  at  the  summit.  At  Pacha- 
camac there  are  two  temples,  which  Uhle  has  been  able 
definitely  to  assign  to  their  respective  deities.  In  the 
plain  is  the  older,  dedicated  to  the  eponymous  deity  of 
the  place,  standing  on  an  artificial  terraced  plateau  of 
some  4700  square  yards  and  surrounded  by  a  large  en- 
closure. Outside  the  entrance  to  the  latter  is  a  double 
colonnade,  and  a  number  of  small  buildings,  probably 
intended  for  the  housing  of  the  pilgrims  who  visited  the 


142  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

temple.  The  Sun-temple,  constructed  under  the  Inca 
regime^  occupies  the  summit  of  a  neighbouring  hill;  the 
hill  itself  is  terraced  and  provided  with  graded  waysand 
staircases,  and  the  south-west  or  principal  fa9ade  is  or- 
namented with  large  niches  of  regular  Inca  type.  Two 
groups  of  buildings  may  still  be  discerned  on  the  sum- 
mit. Terraced  pyramids  of  huge  bulk,  now  unfortu- 
nately much  impaired  by  the  excavations  of  treasure- 
seekers,  occur  at  intervals  along  the  coast,  and  it  is  as 
difficult  torealize  the  vast  amount  of  labourwhich  must 
have  been  expended  in  the  manufacture  of  the  adobes 
of  which  they  and  the  other  remains  are  composed,  and 
in  the  placing  of  those  adobes  in  position,  as  to  estimate 
the  toil  which  went  to  the  building  of  the  stone  for- 
tresses and  palaces  of  the  highlands.  It  is  certain  that 
the  population  of  the  coast  must  have  been  very  large, 
but  the  unfortunate  policy  of  the  Spanish  conquerors, 
and  especially  their  failure  to  maintain  the  aqueducts, 
brought  about  a  rapid  degeneration.  At  the  present 
time  the  only  witnesses  to  the  former  prosperity  of  the 
region  are  the  numerous  remains  of  once  thronged 
palaces  and  towns,  situated,  like  the  Inca  Palace  in  PI. 
XIV,  in  an  environment  of  utter  desolation. 

A  few  words  on  bridges  may  conclude  the  chapter. 
In  dealing  with  small  streams,  such  as  those  which  flowed 
through  the  city  of  Cuzco,  the  banks  were  lined  with 
masonry,  and  the  bed  spanned  by  large  slabs  resting  on 
corbels  projecting  from  the  walls.  Larger  rivers,  such  as 
the  Apurimac,  were  provided  with  suspension-bridges. 
Five  large  cables  of  osier  were  stretched  from  bank  to 
bank,  and  made  fast  to  the  living  rock,  or  to  huge  masses 
of  masonry  specially  constructed  for  the  purpose.  Three 
of  the  cables,  each  as  large  as  a  man's  body,  served  as  the 
floor,and  were  protected  from  wear  bya  layer  of  hurdles; 
the  two  others  played  the  part  of  hand-rails,  and  were 
connected  with  the  former  by  interlaced  boughs.  Such 
bridges  were  extremely  strong,  though  they  required 


DAILY  LIFE  AND  OCCUPATIONS   143 

constant  repair,  and  served  for  the  passage  of  men  and 
beasts.  Floating  bridges  on  bundles  of  reeds  were  also 
used  in  places  where  the  current  was  not  strong,  but 
needed  replacing  more  often.  Occasionally  travellers 
were  conveyed  across  a  stream  in  a  large  basket  running 
on  a  cable,  and,  where  this  means  of  transit  was  adopted, 
special  watchers  were  appointed  whose  duty  it  was  to 
assist  in  pulling  the  passengers  across. 


CHAPTER  VII— PERU  :   BURIAL  AND 
RELIGION 

HAVING  considered  the  habitations  of  the  living,  it 
will  be  as  well  to  turn  our  attention  to  those  pro- 
vided for  the  dead.  The  question  of  the  disposal  of  the 
dead  was  of  great  importance  throughout  Peru,  since, 
as  will  be  seen,  some  form  of  ancestor-worship  was 
practised  throughout,  both  on  the  coast  and  in  the  Sierra. 
Belief  in  the  continued  existence  of  the  soul  after  de- 
cease was  found  practically  everywhere,  though  the 
accounts  of  its  fate  varied  locally.  Garcilasso  states  that 
there  was  a  kind  of  heaven  and  hell,  for  the  souls  of  the 
good  and  wicked  respectively,  and  also  that  some  form 
of  resurrection  was  expected,  for  which  reason  all  hair- 
combings  and  nail-parings  were  carefully  stored  in  holes 
in  the  walls.  Arriaga  writes  that,  according  to  the  people 
of  the  Sierra,  departed  souls  went  to  a  place  called  Ypa- 
marca,  crossing  over  a  great  river  by  a  bridge  of  hairs 
(recalling  the  spider's  web  boat  of  Chibcha  tradition), 
while  the  coast  folk  of  Huacho  believed  that  they  were 
carried  to  the  guano  islands  by  sea-wolves.  Elsewhere 
the  dead  were  believed  to  be  escorted  to  the  other  world 
by  black  dogs,  and  numbers  of  these  animals  were  bred 
and  cared  for,  to  be  sacrificed  on  the  occasion  of  a  funeral. 
The  custom,  almost  universally  prevalent,  at  any  rate  in 
early  times,  of  interring  the  favourite  wives  and  even 
retainers  with  important  individuals,  also  bears  witness 
to  a  belief  in  the  continued  existence  of  the  soul.  At  the 
same  time,  by  a  natural  confusion  of  thought,  the  actual 
body  was  regarded  as  in  some  way  sentient,  since  fre- 
quent offerings  of  food  and  especially  drink  were  made  at 
the  tombs,  and  the  mummies  were  brought  out  at  stated 

144 


PERU— BURIAL  AND  RELIGION     145 

intervals  and  ceremonial  feasts  were  held  in  their  hon- 
our. The  term  '  mummies  '  is  used  for  want  of  a  better, 
but  there  is  no  evidence  that  any  preservative  prepara- 
tion was  injected  into  the  body.  Sometimes  the  internal 
organs  were  removed,  and,  in  the  case  of  the  Inca,  pre- 
served in  golden  vessels  in  a  temple  twelve  miles  from 
the  capital ;  but  the  preservation  of  the  body  was  due 
mainly  to  the  extra- 
ordinarily dry  atmo- 
sphere of  the  coast 
and  the  higher  sierra. 
Inland  the  body,  ar- 
ranged in  a  squatting 
position,  was  usually 
wrapped  in  a  gar- 
ment of  fine  cotton, 
enveloped  in  many 
wrappings  of  cloth, 
and  finally  in  a  tight- 
ly fitting  reed  mat 
secured  by  a  net.  The 
face  was  sometimes 
left  exposed,  as  at 
Xauxa,  where  the 
dead  were  sewn  up 
in  fresh  llama-skins 
and  preserved  in  the 
houses.  The  stone  burial-towers  of  the  Collao  have 
already  been  mentioned.  On  the  coast  two  or  more 
bodies  are  often  found  in  a  single  mummy-pack,  and 
the  wrapping  is  rather  more  elaborate.  At  Ancon, 
where  so  many  graves  were  explored  by  Reiss  and 
StQbel,  the  dead  were  arranged  in  a  contracted  position 
and  the  fingers  and  toes  carefully  wrapped  in  cloth.  A 
number  of  bandages  were  wound  round  the  body,  which 
was  then  packed  in  cotton,  leaves  or  seaweed,  and  made 
up  into  a  rectangular  parcel  with  more  wrappings.  To 


Fig.  14. — Mummy,  from  the  coast  ;  Ancon 
(after  Reiss  and  Stiibel). 


146  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

many  of  the  mummy-packs,  irrespective  of  the  number 
of  bodies  which  they  contained,  a  false  head  was  added, 
furnished  with  eyes  of  shell  or  silver,  a  nose  of  wood 
and  a  wig  (Fig.  14).  The  actual  form  of  grave  differed 
according  to  locality.  In  the  highlands  natural  caverns, 
often  enlarged  by  artificial  means,  were  employed  as 
mausolea,  and  the  bodies  were  arranged  in  a  seated 
position  round  the  walls  or  in  niches.    Many  of  these 
mortuary  caves  are  situated  in  the  face  of  some  inacces- 
sible cliff,  and  the  dead  must  have  been  lowered  there  by 
means  of  ropes.  The  entrance  was  always  carefully  con- 
cealed with  masonry.   In  many  parts  of  Peru,  especially 
in  the   neighbourhood  of  Cuzco,   occur  outcropping 
rocks  which  have  been  carved  with  stairways,  seats,  and 
all  manner  of  intricate  channels  leading  from  small  reser- 
voirs.    Usually  some  sort  of  grotto  or  deep  niche  has 
been  cut  in  the  lower  portion  of  these  rocks,  and  human 
remains  have  been  found  in  them.  Uhle  has  suggested 
that  these  were  the  burial-places  of  important  individu- 
als,and  that  the  small  basins  or  reservoirs  were  intended 
for  the  reception  of  libations,  which  were  supposed  to 
reach  the  dead  by  means  of  the  channels  leading  from 
them.     It  is  also  possible,  however,  that  the  rock  was 
supposed  to  be  the  dwelling-place  of  some  huaca,  for 
whom  the  libations  were  intended,  and  that  the  presence 
of  the  bodies  was  due  to  a  desire  to  be  buried  at  the 
shrine  of  the  huaca  of  the  ayllu,  just   as  the  royal 
mummieswere  preserved  in  the  templeoftheirclan-god, 
the  Sun.   Evidence  of  this  desire  occurs  at  Pachacamac, 
where  burial  within  the  temple  precincts  was  regarded 
as  a  great  privilege  only  to  be  granted  to  individuals  of 
exalted  position.  The  same  authority  also  suggests  that 
the   numerous   seat-like   carvings,    almost  invariably 
called  "  Seats  of  the  Inca,"  one  of  which  is  shown  in 
PI.  XVII,  I,  were  also  connected  with  a  festival  to  the 
Sun, at  which  the  mummies  were  brought  out  from  their 
sepulchres  and  shared  passively  in  the  ceremonies. 


PLATE   XV 


Photo.  ri:.r,r7roo./ 


PERU 
Masonry  ok   iiir,  Sacsahuaman   Kortrkss:  Cuzco 


PERU— BURIAL  AND  RELIGION     147 

On  the  coast  the  burials  show  great  variety,  but  two 
main  forms  may  be  distinguished,  the  excavated  grave 
and  the  pyramid.  Grotto-burial  seems  not  to  occur, 
except  at  Paramonga;  but  even  here  it  is  not  certain 
that  the  graves  are  not  those  of  the  later  Inca  population, 
since  they  have  not  been  properly  explored,  and  the 
locality  wasan  important  military  post,  fortified  by  Pacha- 
cuti  with  a  magnificent  citadel.  The  graves  of  Ancon, 
which  may  betaken  as  roughly  typical  of  the  wholecoast, 
exhibit  this  variety  to  a  considerable  degree.  Shallow 
pits,  deep  shafts  with  or  without  niches,  single  subter- 
ranean chambers,  or  a  series  of  such  chambers  arranged 
at  different  levels  in  a  diagonal  direction,  all  occur;  and 
the  more  important  are  lined  with  masonry,  pilca  or 
adobes.  Some  form  of  protection  from  the  superincum- 
bent earth  is  nearly  always  present,  sometimes  a  regular 
roof,  sometimes  merely  a  reed  mat  or  a  fragment  from 
a  huge  jar.  The  habit  of  providing  the  dead  with  some 
such  shelter,  again  seems  to  imply  that  they  were  re- 
garded as  in  some  way  sentient,  especially  as  we  are  told 
by  Arriaga  that  the  natives  were  continually  disinter- 
ring thebodiesof  those  whohad  been  accorded  Christian 
burial,  and  disposing  of  them  secretly  after  the  pagan 
fashion,  because,  it  was  thought,  they  were  oppressed  by 
the  earth.  Arriaga,  it  is  true,  writes  of  the  interior, 
where  the  practice  of  cave-burial  prevailed,  and  the  idea 
of  inhumation  no  doubt  was  the  more  repugnant  to  the 
native  mind.  Burials  occur  both  singly  and  in  groups, 
and  some  of  the  graves  are  literally  packed  with  mum- 
mies, in  which  case  the  more  important  are  always  at 
the  top.  With  the  dead,  especially  on  the  coast,  was 
buried  their  personal  property,  and  to  this  fact  we  owe 
most  of  our  knowledge  of  the  ethnography  of  the  mari- 
time districts.  Garments,  textiles,  weaving  apparatus, 
arms,  implements,  ornaments,  domestic  pets  (such  as 
dogs,  parrots  and  monkeys)  and  even  children's  dolls 
(PI.  IX,  1)  are  found  all  along  the  coast,  together  with 


148  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

great  stores  of  pottery,  of  which  the  finest  comes  from 
Truxillo  and  Nasca.  The  coast,in  fact,  Is  one  vast  grave- 
yard, and,  in  the  words  of  Cieza,  "  It  is  certainly  a  mar- 
vellous thing  to  seethe  great  quantity  of  dead  bodies  that 
there  are  in  these  sandy  and  barren  mountains,  with  their 
clothes  now  worn  out  and  mouldering  away  with  time." 
In  the  interior  of  the  country  the  associated  objects  are 
fewer.  But  though  we  have  been  able  to  a  great  extent 
to  reconstruct  the  culture  of  the  Peruvians  through 
their  custom  of  depositing  the  cherished  possessions  of 
the  dead  with  their  bodies,  yet  this  very  habit  has  con- 
tributed to  the  loss  of  a  great  deal  of  important  evi- 
dence. Unfortunately  many  of  the  utensils  are  of  gold 
and  silver,and  the  burial-places  have  attracted  the  atten- 
tion of  treasure-seekers  innumerable  from  the  earliest 
days  of  the  Spanish  conquest.  For  example  one  of  Gon^ 
zalo  Pizarro's  captains  is  said  to  have  taken  more  than 
fifty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  treasure  from  a  tomb  at 
Yea.  The  damage  wrought  by  "excavators"  of  this  sort 
is  incalculable,  but  the  material  is  vast,  and  still  offers 
magnificent  opportunities  to  a  properly  trained  archaeo- 
logist, who  would  carry  on  the  work  so  ably  initiated  by 
Professor  Uhle.  Burial  within  the  precincts  of  the 
dwelling  was  sometimes  practised,  and  numerous  graves 
have  been  found  among  the  ruins  at  Pachacamac.  The 
custom  of  urn-burial  is  very  rare  in  Peru,  and  seems 
to  have  been  practised  only  in  the  case  of  twins  who 
died  young.  The  urns  were  kept  in  the  house.  As 
stated  above  the  mummies  of  the  rulers  and  their  con- 
sorts were  preserved  in  the  Sun-temple  at  Cuzco,  seated 
in  order  round  the  wall,  near  the  image  of  the  Sun,  on 
golden  chairs.  At  the  conquest  they  were  secretly  re- 
moved, but  five  of  them,  including  the  bodies  of  Uira- 
cocha,  Tupac  Yupanqui  and  Huayna  Ccapac,  were  dis- 
covered by  the  Licentiate  Ondegardo  and  were  seen  by 
Garcilasso,  who  describes  them  as  follows :  "The  bodies 
were  so  perfect  that  they  wanted  neither  hair, eye-brows 


PERU— BURIAL  AND   RELIGION     149 

nor  eye-lashes.  They  were  in  their  clothes  such  as  they 
had  worn  when  alive,  with  the  llautus  on  their  heads, 
but  without  any  othersignof  royalty.  They  wereseated, 
in  the  way  the  Indian  men  and  women  usually  sit,  with 
their  arms  crossed  over  their  breasts,  the  right  one  over 
the  left,  and  the  eyes  cast  down  as  if  they  were  looking 
on  the  ground." 

Important  ceremonies  took  place  in  all  the  provinces  at 
the  death  of  the  reigning  Inca,a  feature  of  which  was  the 
recitation  by  selected  poets  of  all  the  feats  performed 
by  the  deceased,  and  which  were  renewed  at  stated  in- 
tervals for  a  whole  year.  A  peculiar  custom  connected 
with  the  demise  of  a  ruler  was  the  following.  His  palace 
with  all  its  contents,  including  the  gold  and  silver  furni- 
ture, was  left  exactly  as  it  was  at  his  death,  and  did  not 
pass  into  the  possession  of  his  successor;  even  the  staff 
of  servants,  it  is  said,  was  still  maintained.  This  custom 
accounts  in  a  large  measure  for  the  great  quantity  of 
gold  which  the  Spaniards  found  in  Peru  at  their  arrival, 
since  each  Inca  was  obliged  to  supply  himself  with  an 
entirely  new  outfit  of  the  utensils  necessary  to  his  rank. 
Solemn  mourning  ceremonies  were  also  practised  in  the 
case  of  individuals  of  exalted  status,  and  of  the  coastal 
chieftains.  We  are  told  that  it  was  the  custom  to  open 
the  graves  of  the  latter  at  intervals,  and  to  renew  the 
clothes  and  food  placed  within  them;  and  in  some  places 
burials  have  been  found  which  seem  to  support  this 
statement. 

The  subject  of  the  religion  or  religions  of  Peru  is 
one  of  great  complexity,  and  really  deserves  a  whole 
volume  to  itself.  The  material  is  extensive;  most 
of  the  early  chroniclers,  some  of  whom  were  of  Inca 
descent,  give  valuable  information  concerning  the  be- 
liefs and  ceremonies  of  the  people,  and  the  writings  of 
the  early  missionaries  are  of  the  highest  importance  in 
this  respect.  In  its  main  outlines  the  religion  as  found 
by  the  Spaniards  was  fairly  homogeneous  in  character 


I50  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

throughout  Peru,  since  the  local  cults  of  which  it  was 
composed  were  the  product  of  a  common  psychology. 
But  very  great  differences  existed  in  the  quality  of  the 
beliefs,  and,  from  the  cultural  standpoint,  those  of  the 
peasant  population  differed  from  those  held  by  the 
educated  Inca  as  widely  as  the  primitive  village  cults 
of  India  from  the  highest  tenets  of  Hinduism.  The 
objects  of  worship  may  be  divided  roughly  into  four 
classes  :  creator-gods ;  the  heavenly  bodies.  Earth  and 
Sea;  hiiaca  ;  and  personal  fetishes;  but  it  must  be  re- 
membered that  the  distinction  is  artificial,  in  sofar  as  we 
have  no  knowledge  that  it  existed  in  the  native  mind. 
With  the  cult  of  the  huaca,  ancestor-worship  was  insep- 
arably bound  up. 

Of  the  creator-gods,  the  name  of  Uiracocha  has  al- 
ready been  mentioned  as  that  of  the  deity  worshipped 
by  the  rulers  of  the  pre-Inca  empire  who  came  from  the 
Collao.  Uiracocha  is  closely  connected  with  Tiahuanaco, 
the  megalithic  site  at  the  south  end  of  lake  Titicaca. 
Here  he  is  said  to  have  carved  men  in  stone  or  modelled 
them  in  clay,  and  to  have  transported  them  miraculously 
to  certain  caves,  rocks,  trees  and  streams  in  the  various 
provinces,  whence  they  issued  as  the  ancestors  of  the 
different  tribes.  To  him  is  attributed  the  creation  of  the 
sun  and  moon,  and  he  held  power  over  lightning  and 
thunder.  After  the  creation  he  travelled  northwards 
through  the  country  in  the  guise  of  an  elderly  man  with 
a  long  beard,  and  performed  various  miracles  with  the 
aid  of  a  magic  staff,  finally  disappearing  over  the  sea  in 
the  neighbourhood  of  Porto  Viejo.  The  latter  part  of 
the  myth  probably  represents  the  conquestof  the  country 
by  his  worshippers.  His  full  name  is  given  as  Con  Ticsi 
Uiracocha,andappears  to  be  derived  fromsome  language 
other  than  the  Quichua  dialect,  which  was  the  official 
tongue  of  the  Inca  empire  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish 
conquest.  In  other  parts  of  the  Collao  this  creator  who 
held  power  over  the  heavenly  bodies  was  known  as  Ton- 


PLATE   XVI 


I'KRU 
Portion  of  thr  "  Co.nven  r,"  Inca  Period:  Pachacamac 


SrUCCO    WALK    DECOKAIION  :    ClIANCIIAN.    TRrXII.I.O 

(lyoth  subjects  froiii  U'rig,ht  s  "  Old  and  Xcw  Peru.'  h'  permission  of 
Missi s.  Bill  ry  df  Sons) 


PERU— BURIAL  AND  RELIGION     511 

apa  and  Tarapaca,  and  his  cult  seems  to  have  extended 
as  far  south  as  the  north-west  provinces  of  the  Argentine 
Republic.  The  Quichua  name  for  the  creator  was  Pacha- 
camac  (the  "  Soul  of  the  Universe  "),  and  this  Pacha- 
camac  was  identified  with  Uiracocha.  As  we  have  seen, 
an  important  centre  of  his  worship  was  the  coast  town 
of  that  name  ;  but  the  fact  that  the  name  is  Quichua 
seems  to  prove  that  the  deity  to  whom  the  early  temple 
was  erected  was  not  the  Quichua  Pachacamac,  but  mere- 
ly identified  with  him  by  the  conquerors  of  the  coast. 
Whether  this  identification  took  place  in  Inca  or  pre- 
Inca  times  it  is  impossible  to  say,  but  the  latter  hypo- 
thesis appears  almost  the  more  probable,  since  the  name 
Pachacamac  had  become  very  deeply  rooted  on  the  coast 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  famous  shrine.  Santillan 
states  that  here  the  primitive  name  for  Pachacamac  was 
Irma.  Uhle  quotes  an  interesting  myth  from  the  coast 
which  shows  Pachacamac  in  conflict  with  the  Sun.  Pacha- 
camac created  a  man  and  woman,  but  omitted  to  provide 
them  with  food  ;  the  man  died,  and  the  woman  appealed 
to  the  Sun  for  assistance.  The  Sun  gave  thewoman  a  son, 
and  taught  the  pair  to  live  upon  the  wild  fruits  of  the 
earth.  Pachacamac,  enraged  at  his  interference,  killed 
the  son,  but  buried  the  various  portions  of  his  body  in 
the  earth,  and  created  from  them  the  various  cultivated 
plants.  From  the  teeth  sprang  corn,  from  the  bones 
yuca,  and  from  the  flesh  other  vegetables  and  fruits. 
The  Sun  however  gave  the  woman  another  son,  who 
was  named  Wichama,but  in  his  absence  Pachacamac  slew 
the  woman,  who  by  this  time  was  very  old.  Wichama 
in  wrath  pursued  Pachacamac,  but  the  latter  disappeared 
in  the  sea,  and  Wichama  vented  his  rage  upon  the  rest  of 
mankind  by  scorching  up  their  land  and  turning  many  of 
them  into  stone.  This  myth,  which  has  been  interpreted 
as  representing  the  course  of  the  seasons,  seems  to  have 
been  influenced  by  the  beliefs  of  the  inland  region,  since 
Pachacamac,  as  well  as  Wichama,  is  represented  as  the 


^52  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

son  of  the  Sun.  In  the  parched  maritime  districts  the 
Sun  was  not  regarded  as  a  benefactor,  and  Sun-worship 
was  not  practised  until  imposed  by  the  Inca  ;  it  is  un- 
likely, therefore,  that  the  local  creating  and  preserving 
deity  should  have  been  connected  with  the  destroyer. 

In  the  uplandprovinceofHuarochiri, which  is  never- 
theless near  the  coast,another  creating  deity  was  found, 
here  called  Iraya,  and  identified  with  Uiracocha.  It 
would  appear  that  the  inhabitants  of  this  place  had 
moved  inland  from  the  seaboard,  and  the  stories  which 
have  been  preserved  by  Avila  concerning  Iraya  resemble 
in  some  particulars  the  myths  of  the  god  of  Pachacamac. 
It  is  rather  in  tone  than  in  actual  details  that  this  simi- 
larity exists  ;  the  great  gods  of  the  coast  are  not  nearly 
such  dignified  beings  as  those  of  the  interior.  They 
adopt  a  variety  of  animal-forms  as  disguise,  and  play  all 
manner  of  tricks  on  men  and  the  other  gods.  In  fact 
some  of  the  tales  of  Huarochiri  might  almost  have 
been  transported  direct  trom  the  coast  of  North-west 
America.  Though  the  conduct  of  Iraya  at  times  befits  a 
huaca  of  low  order  rather  than  a  creator,  yet  he  is  given 
all  the  attributes  of  Uiracocha  as  well  as  the  name.  Uhle 
identifies  him  with  Irma-Pachacamac,  but  though  he 
may  have  represented  Irma,  it  does  not  seem  possible 
that  the  inhabitants  regarded  him  as  equvalent  to 
Pachacamac ;  for  the  latter  is  mentioned  in  the  same 
myth  in  terms  which  seem  to  make  him  quite  a  different 
person.  These  few  details  give  some  idea  of  the  intricate 
nature  of  the  problem,  and  of  the  manner  in  which  the 
theology  of  Peru  had  been  complicated  by  conquest  and 
reconquest,  and  also,  in  all  probaiblity,  by  intrusive  ele- 
ments from  further  up  the  American  coast.  One  fact 
seems  to  result,  namely,  that  many,  if  not  most,  of  the 
Peruvian  tribes  worshipped  each  a  supreme  creator-god, 
and  that  the  attributes  of  these  creator-gods  were  suffi- 
ciently similar  to  admit  of  their  identification  when  the 
cults  came  into  contact. 


PERU— BURIAL  AND   RELIGION     153 

The  next  class  of  objects  of  worship,  the  heavenly 
bodies,  the  earth  and  the  sea,  are  to  some  extent  con- 
nected with  the  third  class,  the  huaca,  and  it  will  be  as 
well  here  to  explain  shortly  this  puzzling  term.  Huaca, 
though  a  substantive,  is  best  translated  by  "  holy," 
although  its  meaning  is  even  more  extensive.  It  was  ap- 
plied to  material  objects  which  were  honoured  with  a 
cult,  rocks,  lakes,  animals,  and  mummies  of  ancestors, 
to  temples,graves,and  to  the  offerings  which  were  made 
at  shrines  ;  and  even  to  objects  and  individuals  depart- 
ing in  some  way  from  the  normal,  as,  for  example,  a 
double-yolked  egg  or  a  person  with  a  hare-lip.  At  the 
present  day  it  is  the  term  usually  applied  to  an  a.icient 
grave.  For  the  purposes  of  this  chapter  it  will  be  used 
as  a  generic  term  for  the  first  of  these  classes.  As  a 
matterof  fact  the  Sun, though  the  name  huaca  was  never 
applied  to  it,  must  originally  have  belonged  to  this  class, 
since  it  was  the  clan-god  of  the  ruling  family  of  Cuzco  ; 
but  the  Sun-cult  had  increased  in  importance  with  the 
spread  of  Inca  power,  until  it  became  the  state  religion. 
The  Sun-temple,  or  Curicancha  ("  House  of  Gold  ")  at 
Cuzco  is  said  to  have  been  founded  by  Manco,  but  it 
was  rebuilt  and  expanded  by  later  rulers.  Part  of  the 
building  exists  to-day  incorporated  in  the  monastery  of 
Santo  Domingo.  The  golden  glories  of  the  Curicancha 
have  often  been  described  ;  the  walls,  built  of  accu- 
rately fitting  rectangular  blocks  of  stone,  were  covered 
with  sheets  of  the  precious  metal  and  studded  with 
jewels ;  one  end  formed  an  apse  which  contained  the 
image  of  the  sun,  a  huge  circular  plate  of  gold  which 
has  never  been  discovered.^  Near  the  main  building 
were  four  other  shrines,  one  ornamented  with  silver 
and  dedicated  to  the  Moon,  another,  similarly  deco- 
rated, to  the  Planets,  a  third  to  the  Thunder  and  Light- 

^  The  golden  plate  which  fell  to  the  share  of  Leguisamo  and  which 
he  gambled  away  in  a  single  night  seems  to  have  been  a  smaller  emblem 
of  this  divinity. 


154  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

ning,  and  the  fourth,  which  was  lined  with  gold,  to  the 
Rainbow.  But  Sun-worship  was  notconfined  to  thelnca; 
indeed  most  of  the  people  of  the  Sierra  seem  to  have 
adored  Inti  or  Punchao  (the  Sun)  as  a  benefactor,  and, 
as  we  have  seen,  the  cult  extended  through  Ecuador  up 
into  Colombia.  Another  divinity  which  received  wor- 
ship was  the  Earth,  which  under  the  name  Pachamama, 
"  All-mother,"  was  regarded  as  the  personification  of 
fertility.  On  the  coast,  at  Truxillo,  the  Moon,  under 
the  name  Si,  was  worshipped  as  the  ruler  of  tempests  by 
the  subjects  of  Chimu  ;  but  generally  throughout  this 
region  the  Sea  occupied  the  place  held  by  the  Sun  in 
the  highlands.  At  Truxillo  the  ocean  was  called  Ni, 
while  to  the  Inca,  who  also  paid  it  reverence  when 
they  penetrated  to  the  coast,  it  was  known  as  Mama- 
ccocha,  "  Mother  Sea,"  and  it  was  especially  invoked 
as  a  preserver  from  sickness.  The  huaca  were  in- 
numerable, and,  as  said  above,  appear  to  have  been 
closely  connected  with  ancestor-worship.  Each  ayllu 
claimed  descent  from  a  common  ancestor,  and  this 
ancestor  might  be  a  rock,  lake,  river,  tree  or  animal, 
or  some  supernatural  personage  later  transformed 
into  a  stone,  beast  or  bird.  Whatever  the  ancestor, 
it  was  adored  by  the  ayllu  in  common.  Thus  certain 
of  the  Golla,  who  believed  they  had  issued  from 
lake  Titicaca,  paid  offerings  to  the  lake  ;  a  section  of 
the  Chanca  adored  a  puma  from  whom  they  believed 
themselves  to  have  sprung,  and  so  forth.  Arriaga  states 
that  a  certain  village  worshipped  an  ancestral  huaca  in 
the  form  of  a  stone  eagle,  which  was  found  together 
with  four  mummies,  said  to  be  those  of  its  human  sons, 
the  parents  of  the  tribe.  Where  the  huaca  was  an  ani- 
mal, the  descendants,  especially  on  the  coast,  seem  to 
have  worn  costumes  representing  the  supernatural  an- 
cestor at  stated  festivals,  and  many  of  the  vase-paintings 
appear  to  represent  the  dances  which  took  place  on  such 
occasions  (Fig.  15).     Here  we  have  men  clad  in  masks 


PERU— BURIAL  AND   RELIGION     155 

and  dresses  to  re- 
presentdeer,  foxes, 
scorpions,  bats, 
owls,  condors,  fal- 
cons, pelicans,  lob- 
sters,crabsandfish. 
Some  of  these  de- 
signs   may   repre- 
sent the  huaca  it- 
self, combining  its 
human  and  animal 
aspects,  but  Garcil- 
asso  states  that,  at 
the  great  feast  of 
the  Sun  at  Cuzco, 
the  various  depu- 
tations   from    the 
provinces  appear- 
ed clad  in  the  cos- 
tumes of  the  ani- 
mals  from   which 
they   claimed    de- 
scent.   It  is  possi- 
ble that  the  paint- 
ings   representing 
combats     between 
warriors    adorned 
in  dresses  of  this 
sort  may  represent 
contests     between 
the  men  of  differ- 
ent ayllu  (e.g.  Fig. 
10,  ^,   where   one 
of  the   fighters  is 
dressed  as  a  bat). 
Animals    held    as 
huaca,  and  possibly,  though  we  do  not  know  for  certain, 


156  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

regarded  as  ancestors,  were,  white  llamas  in  the  Collao, 
jaguars  and  serpents  among  the  Anti,  dogs  among  the 
Huanca, snakes  and  condors  in  Chachapoyas,and certain 
fish  and  crustaceans  on  the  coast.  In  the  interior  the  cult 
of  rocks  appears  to  have  been  extremely  extensive,  as 
indeed  throughout  the  whole  Andean  region.  Mention 
has  already  been  made  of  the  rocks  sculptured  with 
steps,  niches,  basins  and  channels,  at  which  offerings 
were  made  and  where  the  important  dead  were  de- 
posited. In  the  case  of  inanimate  huaca  such  as  these, 
some  natural  confusion  seems  to  have  existed  in  the 
native  mind  as  to  whether  the  object  itself  was  divine, 
or  merely  the  habitation  of  some  indwelling  spirit. 
Arriaga,  for  instance,  mentions  a  rock  which  had  been 
the  huaca  of  a  particular  village,  but  was  disturbed,  and 
he  goes  on  to  describe  how  the  huaca  left  the  rock  in 
the  form  of  a  parrot  and  disappeared  into  another  rock 
which  in  consequence  became  huaca.  One  of  the  most 
celebrated  of  the  sacred  rocks  in  Peru  was  that  on  the 
island  of  Titicaca,  which,  at  any  rate  in  later  times,  was 
associated  with  the  Sun,  and  was  faced  by  a  large  temple 
dedicated  to  that  deity.  The  qualification  is  added,  be- 
cause here  too  the  Inca  may  have  appropriated  an  im- 
portant local  huaca  for  their  own  deity.  From  the  history 
we  gather  that  certain  of  the  Inca  attempted  to  put 
down  the  huaca-worship,  but  on  the  whole,  especially 
in  later  times,  they  were  broad-minded,  and  were  satis- 
fied that  the  Sun  should  be  accorded  the  premier  posi- 
tion. When  a  province  was  conquered,  the  local  huaca, 
if  movable,  were  deported  to  Cuzco,  there  to  act  as 
hostages  for  the  good  behaviour  of  their  worshippers. 
Much  of  the  huaca  worship  was  also  incorporated  in  the 
Sun-cult,  and  it  has  been  mentioned  that  the  ancestral 
mummies  were  paraded,  and  dances  performed  in  hon- 
our of  the  huaca,  at  festivals  which  were  held  in  honour 
of  the  Sun. 

The  care  which  was  everywhere  lavished  on  the  dead, 


PLATE  XVII 


i'i;ia' 

1.  "Sicvis"'  cur  IN    iiiK  Li\i.\(;  kih  i-:  :  .m:ak  'I'm  kaca,   Hui.ivia 

2.  THK    In  I  llKAl  ana  :    NKAK     1'l.SAC 


PERU— BURIAL  AND  RELIGION     157 

and  the  preservation  of  the  bodies  in  mummy  form, 
called  malqui  on  the  coast,  and  munaos  in  the  highlands, 
has  been  illustrated  in  the  earlier  part  of  the  chapter. 
It  need  only  be  repeated  here  that  respect  for  the  wants 
of  the  departed  entered  very  largely  into  the  daily  life 
of  the  people.  Constant  offerings  were  made  to  the 
ancestors,  especially  at  the  season  for  sowing  ;  and  in 
Andahuaylas  when  the  fire  threw  out  sparks  it  was  be- 
lieved that  the  family  forbears  were  hungry  and  thirsty, 
and  chicha  and  maize  were  thrown  upon  the  fire.  If 
an  owl  or  a  lizard  on  the  roof  uttered  cries  soon  after 
a  death,  the  inhabitants  supposed  that  the  deceased  re- 
quired attention, and  measures  were  taken  to  supply  the 
necessary  offerings. 

The  lowest  order  of  sacred  objects  (which  also  fell 
under  the  term  huaca,  used  in  its  widest  sense)  included 
the  personal  and  household  fetishes  known  as  conopa 
on  the  coast  and  as  chanca  in  the  sierra.  These  were 
usually  small  stones  of  peculiar  shape  or  colour,crystals, 
and,  after  the  Spanish  conquest,  unfamiliar  objects  such 
as  a  piece  of  sealing-wax  or  the  foot  of  a  glass  goblet. 
Even  the  ruling  Inca  possessed  personal  fetishes  of  this 
nature,  called  huatiqui  or  "  brother."  That  of  Manco 
was  a  miraculous  bird,  named  Inti  (Sun),  that  of  Sinchi 
Rocca,  a  stone  fish,  while  Lloque  Yupanqui  possessed 
an  "idol,"  named  Apu  Mayta.  The  huauqui  of  the  Inca 
Uiracocha  is  said  to  have  been  a  gold  statue  representing 
the  lightning,  and  the  god  Uiracocha  is  said  to  have  ap- 
peared to  him  and  given  him  a  two-headed  snake  as  his 
personal  guardian.  This  fact  is  interesting,  since  the 
belt  of  various  forms  of  ceremonial  dress  is  represented 
in  the  art  of  the  coast  (Fig.  10)  as  a  double-headed  ser- 
pent, and  no  doubt  is  intended  to  represent  power  over 
the  lightning  and  thunder.^    Such  personal  fetishes  were 

^  It  is  interesting  to  note,  further,  that  the  belt  of  the  principal  figure 
on  the  relief  at  Tiahuanaco  (Fig.  17)  also  terminates  in  monstrous 
heads,  which  may  be  meant  for  those  of  snakes  and  not  of  pumas  as  is 


158  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

buried  with  the  owner,  but  the  family  conopa  were  in- 
herited by  the  eldest  son,  together  with  the  dresses  used 
in  thefestivals  held  in  honour  of  the  huaca,andconstituted 
one  of  the  extremely  few  forms  of  individual  property 
existent  in  Peru.  With  the  conopa  and  chanca  may  be 
grouped  other  forms  of  fetishes,  stones  in  the  form  of 
maize-heads(Fig.  27,  rf')  and  potatoeSjWhich  were  suppos- 
ed to  confer  fertility  on  the  crops,  and  figures  of  llamas 
( Fig.  2  7,  b)y  which  were  believed  to  perform  a  like  service 
for  the  herds.  Some  of  the  latter  were  furnished  with 
a  hollow  in  the  back  in  which  offerings  were  placed 
before  the  figure  was  buried  in  the  pastures.  The  use 
of  these  llama  figures  as  fertility-charms  has  survived 
to  the  present  time  among  the  people  of  the  Collao. 
Another  variety  of  fertility-charm  was  the  zaramama 
("  maize-mother  "),  a  doll  made  of  maize-stalks,  a  double 
head  of  maize,  or  one  which  was  of  unusual  shape  or 
colour  ;  these,  which  have  many  parallels  among  agri- 
cultural communities  all  over  the  world,  were  carried 
by  the  participants  in  the  harvest  festivals  and  after- 
wards burnt  in  honour  of  the  lightning.  Certain  stones 
in  the  fields  and  aqueducts  received  offerings  at  the  time 
of  sowing,  while  the  bodies  of  twins  who  died  young 
were  preserved  in  vases  in  the  hut,  one  individual  of 
a  twin  being  supposed  to  be  the  child  of  the  lightning. 
Infants  born  feet  first  were  similarly  honoured,  and  all 
cradles  were  regarded  as  sacred, and  were  sprinkled  with 
chicha  and  adjured  to  protect  the  youthful  inmate.  In 
the  life  of  the  peasantry  no  doubt  the  lesser  objects  of 
worship  played  the  leading  part,  since  they  were  sup- 
posed to  exercise  an  influence  on  every  action  ;  the  more 
important  were  only  adored  on  stated  festivals  or  at 
times  of  especial  difficulty,  when  sickness  occurred,  or 
when  ajourney  had  to  be  undertaken. 

usually  believed.  As  will  be  seen  later  there  is  reason  to  believe  that 
this  figure  represents  the  creator  sky-god  who  had  power  over  the 
lightning. 


PERU— BURIAL  AND   RELIGION     159 

The  service  of  these  almost  innumerable  deities,from 
the  Sun  to  the  conopa,  required  the  existence  of  a  regular 
hierarchy  of  priests,  who  interpreted  their  wishes,  pro- 
claimed their  oracles,  and  received  offerings  in  their 
names.    The  head  of  the  hierarchy  was  the  priest  of  the 
Sun  at  Cuzco,  who  was  always  a  near  relation  of  the 
ruler,  and  bore  the  title  of  Villac  Umu.  His  ceremonial 
robes  consisted  in  a  long  ungirt  tunic  and  a  cape  ;  a 
plate  of  gold  representing  the  sun  adorned  his  head, 
another  of  silver  his  breast,and  his  garments  were  richly 
ornamented  with  precious  metals  and  jewels.     He  was 
allowed  to  marry,  but  his  life  was  hedged  about  with 
many  restrictions,  in  compensation  for  which  he  was 
paid  a  reverence  second  only  to  the  divine  ruler  him- 
self.    The  Sun-worship  in  each  province  was  super- 
intended by  an  Inca,  under  whom  ranked  a  number 
of  vicars  appointed  from  among  the  relations  of  the 
local  Curaga,  assisted  by  priests  of  inferior  degree. 
The  higher  ranks  were  supported  entirely  out  of  the 
revenues  derived  from  the  lands  set  apart  for  the  Sun, 
while  the  lower  orders,  who  performed  their  functions 
in  rotation,  received  state  support  only  as  long  as  they 
were  on  duty  ;  at  other  times  they  lived  the  lives  of 
ordinary  individuals.     The  provincial  and  local  huaca 
were  also  served  by  priests,  and  even  the  malqui  and 
conopa  had  ministers  of  their  own  according  to  their 
degree.     Under  the  Inca  the  creator-gods  alone,  as  a 
general  rule,  were  without  temple  or  priesthood.    The 
point  of  view  seems  to  have  been  that  they  needed  no 
offerings,  since  all  was  theirs.    The  temple  of  Uiracocha 
was  an  exception,  and  was  built  to  commemorate  the 
victory  over  the  Chanca,  while  that  at  Pachacamac  had 
originally  been  erected  to  the  creator-god  of  the  coast 
who  was  only  in  later  times  identified  with  Pachacamac. 
The  worship  of  the  creator  was  spiritual  rather  than 
material,  in  fact,  as  Garcilasso  says,  they"  worshipped 
him  in  their  minds."    Among  the  Peruvians,  as  among 


i6o  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

every  people  where  a  great  difference  in  education  exists 
between  the  upper  and  lower  classes,  the  beliefs  con- 
cerning the  supernatural  powers  varied  according  to  the 
status  of  the  individual.  Huayna  Ccapac,  we  are  told, 
harboured  doubts  concerning  the  divinity  of  the  Sun 
itself,  since  he  remarked  that  it  was  obliged  to  perfarm 
an  appointed  journey,  presumably  at  the  bidding  of 
some  higher  power  ;  and  some  of  the  prayers  to  Uira- 
cocha,  which  luckily  have  been  preserved,  bear  witness 
to  the  spirituality  of  the  religious  beliefs  held,  at  any 
rate  by  the  ruling  class.  One  of  these  given  by  Molina 
and  translated  by  Sir  Clements  Markham,  runs  as 
follows:  "O  Creator!  O  conquering  Uiracocha!  Ever- 
present  Uiracocha  !  Thou  who  art  equal  unto  the  ends 
of  the  earth  !  Thou  who  givest  life  and  strength  to  man- 
kind, saying  let  this  be  a  man,  and  let  this  be  a  woman  ; 
and  as  thou  sayest  so  thou  givest  life,  and  vouchsafest 
that  men  shall  live  in  health  and  peace  and  free  from 
danger!  Thou  who  dwellest  in  the  heights  of  heaven,  in 
the  thunder  and  in  the  storm-clouds,  hear  us,  and  grant 
us  eternal  life !  Have  us  in  thy  keeping,  and  receive  this 
our  offering,  as  it  shall  please  thee,  O  Creator  !  " 

The  oracular  functions  of  the  gods  were  most  im- 
portant in  Peru,  and  some  of  the  shrines,  notably 
that  of  Rimac  ("  The  Speaker  "),  at  what  is  now  Lima, 
was  especially  famous  ;  but  most  of  the  huaca  were 
supposed  to  utter  responses  through  the  medium  of 
their  priests.  Besides  the  oracular  shrines,  counsel  was 
sought  of  numerous  diviners,  who  employed  various 
means  of  discovering  the  will  of  the  supernatural 
powers.  Some  distributed  grains  of  maize  in  random 
heaps,  foretelling  good  or  ill  luck  according  to  the  odd 
or  even  number  of  the  grains  ;  others  pronounced  judg- 
ment from  the  dreams  appearing  to  them  while  sleeping 
on  a  garment  of  the  inquirer.  Others  again  prognosti- 
cated good  or  evil  fortune  from  the  twitching  of  various 
muscles  (as  among  the  Chibcha),  from  the  inspection  of 


PERU— BURIAL  AND  RELIGION    i6i 

the  entrails  of  a  cuy  ("guinea-pig"),  or  from  fire.  (The 
last  form  of  divination  is  said  to  have  been  that  practised 
by  the  original  inhabitants  of  the  Cuzco  valley.)  Some- 
times a  certain  kind  of  spider  with  long  legs  was  stirred 
with  a  stick  until  some  of  its  legs  fell  off,  and  the  number 
and  position  of  the  severed  limbs  provided  the  answer. 
But  one  of  the  most  important  methods  was  to  inflate 
the  lungs  of  a  young  llama  and  to  read  the  reply  in  the 
pattern  made  by  the  blood-vessels.  Unauthorized  prac- 
titioners of  the  black  art  were  also  supposed  to  exist, 
especially  on  the  coast,  who  cast  sleep  upon  their  victims 
and  sucked  their  blood  or  devoured  their  souls. 

An  important  part  was  played  in  religion  by  the 
establishments  called  Aclla-huasi,  which  corresponded 
very  closely  to  the  convents  so  familiar  to  the  Spanish 
conquerors.  These  were  attached  to  most  of  the  Sun- 
temples,  and  contained  a  number  of  young  virgins,  under 
the  care  of  certain  duennas  called  Mamacona^  who  spun 
and  wove  the  garments  worn  by  the  highest  class  and  the 
Inca,  as  well  as  those  dedicated  to  the  Sun.  The  in- 
mates were  chosen  chiefly  for  their  beauty  from  all  over 
the  kingdom  by  special  officers,  but  even  members  of 
the  royal  family  received  their  education  in  one  of  these 
establishments.  They  slept  in  small  cells,  which  were 
visited  three  times  in  the  day,  and  were  kept  in  seclu- 
sion from  the  outside  world.  At  a  certain  age  the  fairest 
were  selected  for  the  harem  of  the  ruler,  others  were 
given  in  marriage  by  him  to  Inca  of  high  position  and 
Curaga,  others  again  entered  the  service  of  religion, 
vowing  perpetual  virginity,  and  serving  as  Mamacona 
or  as  handmaids  in  the  Sun-temples.  The  last  were  re- 
garded with  the  most  reverential  respect.  The  practice 
of  reserving  virgins  for  the  service  of  a  deity  seems  not 
to  have  been  confined  to  the  Inca,  since  Arraiga  states 
that  in  Conchucos  a  maiden  was  dedicated  as  wife  to  a 
stone  huaca  called  Chanca.  Remains  of  Aclla-huasi  still 
exist ;  one  at  Cuzco,  which  at  the  conquest  became  a 

M 


i62  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

Christian  nunnery,one  at  Pachacamac,and  one  on  the  is- 
land of  Titicaca  in  the  lake  of  that  name.  The  planof  the 
Pachacamac  convent  (PI.  X VI,  i ),  described  byUhle,  cor- 
responds very  closely  with  that  at  Titicaca,  figured  by 
Squier.  The  buildings  are  arranged  round  three  sides 
of  an  oblong  court,  of  which  one  of  the  long  sides  is  left 
open.  Along  the  side  facing  the  open  space  are  a  num- 
ber of  small  cells  which  must  have  formed  the  sleeping- 
chambers  of  the  inmates,  while  the  other  apartments 
were  reserved  for  ceremonial  use  and  the  housing  of  the 
Mamacona  and  the  "  lady  superior."  One  of  the  duties 
of  the  chosen  maidens  was  the  preparation  of  chicha  used 
in  offerings  to  the  Sun,  but  they  also  seem  to  have  contri- 
buted their  own  persons  in  the  form  of  human  sacrifices. 
The  question  of  human  sacrifice  has  been  hotly  de- 
bated from  early  times.  It  is  quite  certain  that  the 
practice  was  common  among  many  tribes  before  the 
establishment  of  the  Inca  regime,  and  it  is  equally 
certain  that  the  Inca  suppressed  it,  if  not  entirely,  at 
any  rate  to  a  very  large  extent.  Garcilasso  protests 
vigorously  that  the  Inca  never  made  human  offerings, 
but  the  majority  of  the  chroniclers,  including  such 
trustworthy  authorities  as  Cieza,  are  against  him. 
Recently  archaeology  has  given  its  verdict  in  favour  of 
the  existence  of  the  practice.  Uhle  found  in  the  pre- 
cincts of  the  Sun-temple  at  Pachacamac  a  cemetery  of 
women  all  of  whom  had  been  strangled.  It  was  evident 
that  these  were  not  women  who  had  broken  their  vow 
of  chastity,  or  had  been  guilty  of  any  other  serious 
crime,  since  the  bodies  were  sumptuously  clad  and 
surrounded  with  their  possessions  and  well-decorated 
vases.  It  seems  certain,  therefore,  that  these  had  been 
sacrificed  to  the  Sun.  Molina  and  Gavilan  describe  the 
sacrifice.  The  victims  were  selected  proportionately 
from  the  different  tribes,  and,  after  the  needs  of  the 
capital  were  supplied,  the  remainder  were  despatched 
to  the  various  provinces  and  distributed  among  the 


PERU— BURIAL  AND  RELIGION    163 

important  shrines.  They  travelled  in  regular  convoys, 
those  children  who  were  too  young  to  walk  being 
carried  in  the  arms  of  their  mothers.  With  them  they 
bore  many  other  offerings,  and  received  the  adoration 
of  all  whom  they  met  on  the  journey.  Most  were 
strangled,  but  some  had  the  neck  broken  with  an  im- 
plement of  stone,  while  the  throats  of  others  were  cut, 
and  their  faces  anointed  with  their  own  blood,  which 
was  also  sprinkled  on  the  shrine.  In  other  cases  the 
hearts  were  offered  to  the  divinity.  They  were  buried 
in  special  cemeteries  together  with  the  vessels  which 
they  had  been  accustomed  to  use  in  life.  No  doubt 
the  practice  of  human  sacrifice  was  limited  to  occasions 
of  the  highest  importance  and  was  therefore  rare  ; 
certainly  the  Inca  took  measures  to  ensure  that  such 
offerings  should  be  made  only  with  state  sanction  and 
under  state  control.  Other  offerings,  almost  infinite  in 
variety,  were  made  to  deities  of  every  degree,  from  the 
Sun  to  the  humblest  conopa.  Of  these  perhaps  chicha 
and  coca  were  the  most  common,  and  the  latter  was 
deposited  at  the  stone  cairns,  apacheta,  which  marked 
the  summits  of  mountain  passes,  a  custom  which  still 
survives.  Maize,  fruit,  brightly-coloured  feathers, 
shells,  and  cuys  were  offered  to  the  minor  objects  of 
worship,  while  llamas  were  reserved  for  the  more  im- 
portant festivals  held  in  honour  of  the  huaca  and  the 
Sun.  In  these  cases  the  beast  was  ornamented  with 
garlands  and  tethered  to  a  stone  ;  the  heart  was  torn  out 
and  offered  to  the  deity,  while  the  blood  was  sprinkled 
on  the  offering  and  on  the  huaca.  The  maize  and  coca 
which  were  used  for  such  purposes  were  usually  grown 
in  special  plantations  reserved  for  the  use  of  the  shrine, 
while  the  most  important  huaca  possessed  large  herds 
of  llamas,  those  belonging  to  the  Sun  being  vast  in  ex- 
tent and  scattered  widely  throughout  the  empire.  Offer- 
ings of  gold,  silver  and  jewels  were  practically  restricted 
to  the  Sun. 


1 64  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

Pilgrimages  were  often  made  to  the  more  important 
shrines,  notably  that  of  Pachacamac.  Here  special 
residences  were  erected  for  the  use  of  pilgrims,  since 
they  had  to  undergo  a  lengthy  purification  before  they 
were  permitted  to  enter  the  temple  precincts.  Accord- 
ing to  Hernando  Pizarro,  a  fast  of  twenty  days  had 
to  be  observed  before  the  worshipper  was  admitted 
to  the  first  court,  and  this  fast  must  be  prolonged  for 
a  year  before  he  might  ascend  the  highest  terrace  upon 
which  the  temple  stood.  Fasts  of  this  nature,  consist- 
ing in  a  strict  limitation  of  diet,  including  abstinence 
from  all  condiments  such  as  salt  and  red  pepper,  were 
invariably  necessary  before  ceremonial  purity  could  be 
attained.  Besides  this,  a  form  of  confession  was  often 
prescribed,  which  was  made  before  a  special  priest,  who 
employed  a  form  of  divination  to  ascertain  if  the  con- 
fession was  genuine  and  complete.  The  priest  drove  a 
thorn  into  a  fragment  of  shell,  and  observed  if  the  latter 
broke  into  two  or  three  pieces.  In  the  former  case  the 
penitent  had  to  recommence  his  confession.  Pilgrim- 
ages were  also  made  to  the  sacred  rock  on  the  island 
of  Titicaca,  and  here  too  the  visitor  was  obliged  to 
make  confession  and  take  means  to  purify  himself  of 
sin  before  he  was  allowed  to  deposit  his  offering  at 
the  Kentipuncu  ("Humming-bird  Gate")  and  pass 
through  to  the  holy  ground.  Other  forms  of  purifica- 
tion consisted  in  ceremonial  washing  and  a  changing 
of  garments. 

A  description  of  the  various  festivals  which  were 
held  at  stated  seasons  of  the  year  is  beyond  the  scope 
of  this  book.  The  material  which  exists  on  this  subject 
is  large,  and  will  form  an  important  section  of  that 
general  work  on  the  religion  of  Peru  which  some  day 
must  be  written.  A  few  words  may,  however,  be  said 
concerning  the  two  most  interesting,  Intip  Raymi,  the 
great  feast  of  the  Sun,  and  Situa,  at  which  all  evil  was 
banished  from  the  city  of  Cuzco.  Raymi,  which  lasted 


PERU— BURIAL  AND  RELIGION    165 

nine  days,  took  place  in  June,  and  was  celebrated  by  all 
of  the  ruling  caste  who  could  be  present,  together  with 
deputations  from  the  provinces  headed  by  the  Curaga. 
The  worshippers  prepared  themselves  by  a  fast,  and 
assembled  before  sunrise  in  the  great  square.  All  wore 
their  finest  jewels  and  ceremonial  garments,  and  the 
scene  must  have  been  one  of  great  magnificence.  When 
the  sun  rose  all  prostrated  themselves  in  adoration, 
until  the  ruler  stood,  and,  taking  two  vases  of  gold,  full 
of  chicha,  emptied  one  into  a  golden  vessel  connected 
by  a  conduit  with  the  temple.  This  was  a  libation  to  the 
Sun.  He  next  drank  from  the  other,  and  the  rest  of 
the  liquor  was  poured  into  small  cups  which  were  dis- 
tributed among  the  members  of  the  royal  family.  The 
Cura^a  also  received  cups  of  chicha  manufactured  by 
the  maidens  dedicated  to  the  Sun.  The  Inca  and  his 
relations  next  entered  the  temple  and  offered  up  the 
precious  vessels  from  which  they  had  drunk,  together 
with  other  objects  of  silver  and  gold,  while  the  less 
exalted  assembly  waited  in  the  square.  A  black  llama 
was  then  sacrificed,  and  the  lungs  inspected  ;  if  the 
omen  were  unfavourable,  another  victim  was  tried,  and 
again  another.  But  if  after  the  third  attempt  the  signs 
were  still  unpropitious,  the  ceremony  proceeded  no 
further,  and  all  manner  of  disasters  were  apprehended 
during  the  coming  year.  If  the  omens  were  favourable, 
a  large  number  of  other  llamas  were  sacrificed,and  their 
hearts  and  blood  offered  to  the  Sun,  the  flesh  being  re- 
served for  the  subsequent  feast.  For  this,a  special  bread 
was  prepared  from  maize,  which  on  ordinary  occasions 
was  eaten  simplyroasted.  It  was  considered  necessary  to 
prepare  new  fire  by  a  ceremonial  method  for  the  sacri- 
fices and  banquet.  On  the  eve  of  the  ceremony  the 
sun's  rays  were  concentrated  on  a  wisp  of  cotton  by 
means  of  a  concave  mirror  worn  on  the  bracelet  of  the 
Villac  Umu.  Torches  kindled  at  the  flame  so  obtained 
were  conveyed  to  the  temple  and  the  Aclla-huasi,  where 


i66  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

the  sacred  fire  was  constantly  maintained  until  the  next 
year.  If  the  day  were  cloudy  the  ordinary  fire-sticks 
were  used,  but  the  omen  was  considered  bad.  The  chief 
feature  of  the  ceremonial  banquet  was  the  enormous 
quantity  of  chicha  which  was  consumed.  The  drinking- 
vessels  were  all  of  the  same  size,  and  a  regular  etiquette 
was  observed.  One  of  the  assembly  would  approach 
another  with  two  cups,  and  invite  him  to  drink;  each 
emptied  one  of  the  vessels,  and  the  challenger  returned 
to  his  seat.  The  invitation  always  came  in  the  first  in- 
stance from  the  superior  in  rank,  and  the  other  was  sup- 
posed to  return  the  compliment  at  a  later  stage.  The 
ruler  also  sent  cups  of  chicha  to  selected  individuals 
with  a  similar  invitation,  and  the  person  so  honoured 
replied  in  the  same  fashion  ;  the  Inca  expressing  his 
esteem  by  the  quantity  which  he  drank  from  the  goblet 
handed  him  by  his  subject. 

The  Situa  festival  was  held  in  August,  and  the  prin- 
cipal huaca  (such  as  were  movable)  were  transported 
from  all  over  the  empire  to  take  part  in  the  proceed- 
ings. At  this  season  the  rains  began,  which  were  usually 
accompanied  by  much  sickness,  and  the  ceremony  was 
of  a  prophylactic  nature.  All  strangers,  deformed  per- 
sons and  notoriously  unlucky  individuals,  were  re- 
quired to  leave  Cuzco.  Four  bodies  of  armed  men,  all 
of  high  rank,  formed  up  in  the  square,  and,  at  a  given 
signal,  rushed  each  along  one  of  the  main  roads  leading 
to  the  provinces,  brandishing  their  weapons  and  shout- 
ing "  Go  forth  all  evils."  When  they  had  run  a  certain 
distance,  others  took  up  the  cry,  which  was  thus  passed 
on  by  relays  of  armed  runners  until  a  stipulated  river 
was  reached  where  they  bathed  and  washed  their  arms. 
Meanwhile  the  inhabitants  of  the  city  came  to  their 
doors  and  shook  their  mantles,  crying  out  "  Let  the 
evils  be  gone."  That  evening  there  was  a  dance  and 
a  feast,  of  which  the  remnants  were  thrown  into  the 
rivers.    Next  day  the  figures  of  the  Sun  and  huaca,  and 


PERU— BURIAL  AND  RELIGION    167 

the  mummies  of  the  important  dead,  were  brought  into 
the  square  and  ceremonially  washed,  and  the  Inca 
poured  a  libation  to  the  Sun  as  at  the  Raymi  festival. 
The  day  was  passed  in  feasting  and  games,  thanks  were 
given  to  the  creator  for  permitting  his  worshippers  to 
survive  another  year,  and  prayers  were  offered  for  pre- 
servation during  that  to  come.  On  the  succeeding 
days  large  sacrifices  of  llamas  were  made,  and  the  feast- 
ing continued,  the  persons  temporarily  expelled  from 
the  city  being  permitted  to  return  and  share  in  the  pro- 
ceedings. A  final  sacrifice  of  llamas  and  cloth  termi- 
nated the  festival,  and  the  provincial  embassies  were 
permitted  to  return  laden  with  gifts, the  Cura9a  being  on 
this  occasion  allowed  the  privilege  of  litters.  This  feast 
was  said  to  have  been  established  by  Pachacuti. 

One  point  ought  to  be  mentioned  in  conclusion  of 
this  chapter.  A  tradition  of  a  great  deluge  seems  to 
have  existed  throughout  the  highlands  of  Peru,  as  in 
Colombia.  Most  of  the  legends  place  it  immediately 
before  the  coming  of  Uiracocha,  and  two  of  them  relate 
that  warning  of  the  impending  flood  was  given  to  the 
eventual  survivors  by  their  llamas.  It  is  strange  how 
this  deluge-myth  not  only  pervades  practically  the  whole 
of  the  Andean  region  of  South  America,  but  extends 
also  to  many  regions  in  the  northern  portion  of  the 
continent. 


CHAPTER    VIII— PERU  :     THE    SEQUENCE 
OF   CULTURES 

HAVING  sketched  the  ancienthistoryof  Peru  as  far 
as  we  know  it,  and  given  a  few  details  regarding 
the  beliefs  and  general  culture  of  the  people,  it  is  now 
time  to  deal  with  the  question  how  far  the  archaeology 
of  the  country  can  explain,  or  be  explained  by,  the  fore- 
going chapters.  Whatever  view  may  be  taken  of  the 
value  of  the  writings  of  Montesinos  it  is  evident  that 
the  short  list  of  Inca,  concerning  which  most  of  the 
chroniclers  are  in  agreement,  does  not  take  us  back  to 
the  earliest  form  of  culture  of  which  remains  are  found 
in  the  country.  Apart  from  the  fact  that  we  find  in  Inca 
records  stories  of  the  discovery  of  mighty  ruins,  the 
evolution  of  the  several  varieties  of  the  llama  species, 
two  of  which  have  never  been  found  in  a  wild  state,  re- 
quires a  longer  period  than  that  covered  by  the  list  ; 
while  the  evolution  of  the  cultivated  varieties  of  maize 
and  potato  can  only  be  explained  by  long  centuries  of 
agricultural  activity.  We  have  seen  that  a  certain  local- 
ity called  Tiahuanaco,  situated  at  the  extreme  south  of 
lake  Titicaca,  is  closely  associated  with  the  creation- 
myths  current  among  the  Inca  and  Colla.  Here  it  was 
that  Uiracocha,  coming  from  the  south,  made  mankind 
and  the  heavenly  bodies,  and  here  are  found  the  ruins 
which  most  excited  the  astonishment  of  the  later  Inca 
conquerors.  These  ruins,  of  which  a  careful  survey  was 
made  by  Stabel  and  Uhle,  and  which  have  been  further 
unveiled  by  Courty  of  the  Cr^qui-Montfort  expedition, 
stand  in  a  desolate  plain  thirteen  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea.    The  most  noticeable  feature  is  a 

x68 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES    169 

large  mound,  resembling  a  ruined  step-pyramid,  con- 
cerning the  origin  of  which  there  has  been  much  dispute. 
Some  have  held  that  it  is  natural,  but  the  recent  dis- 
covery of  a  series  of  walls,  apparently  terrace-walls,  and 
of  a  large  stone-lined  drain  leading  from  the  summit  to 
the  foot,  proves  that  this  mound,  even  if  it  be  not  en- 
tirely artificial,  has  at  least  been  considerably  modified 
and  enlarged  by  the  hand  of  man.  But  the  mound, 
though  the  most  conspicuous  of  the  remains,  is  the  least 


=     I 


Fig.  16. — Sketch-plan  of  the  niegalithic  enclosure  at  Tiahuanaco. 


A.  Great  enclosure. 

B.  Artificial  depression. 

C.  Stairway  (PI.  XVIII). 

D.  Monolithic  gateway  (Fl.  XIX). 


E.    Large  monolithic  slab. 
V.    Small  chambers. 
(».    Enclosure  with  double  wall. 
II.    Small  enclosure. 


remarkable.  In  the  plain  at  its  foot  is  a  large  rectan- 
gular enclosure,  roughly  about  90  by  80  yards,  marked 
out  by  rows  of  enormous  monoliths  of  dressed  sand- 
stone (Fig.  16.  Two  of  the  monoliths  appear  in 
PI.  XVIII,  2).  One  of  the  largest  of  the  monoliths 
measures  over  12  feet  high  (above  ground),  6  feet 
wide,  and  4  feet  thick,  and  the  weight  has  been  esti- 
mated at  over  26  tons.  The  sides  of  the  enclosure 
face  the  points  of  the  compass,  and  the  western  end 
is  recessed  as  shown  in  the  plan.  The  great  monoliths 
in  their  present  condition,  standing  some  sixteen  feet 
apart,  bear  some  resemblance  to  the  stone  circles  of  this 


I/O  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCH/EOLOGY 

continent,  but  the  most  recent  excava^tions  have  proved 
that  they  were  connected  by  a  wall,  built  of  stone  blocks 
without  mortar,  and  that  the  enclosure  was  entered  by 
a  staircase  of  large  monolithic  steps  in  the  centre  of  the 
eastern  side  (PI.  XVIII,  2,  and  Fig.  i6,  c).  Within  the 
enclosure  is  a  rectangular  depression  (Fig.  i6,  /^),  to 
which  the  stairway  gives  immediate  access,  and  opposite 
the  stairway,  to  the  east  of  the  great  enclosure,  is  a 
smaller  square  enclosure  (Fig.  i6,  /i),  built  in  the  same 
manner,  but  with  grotesque  heads  sculptured  in  relief 
on  the  supporting  columns  of  the  wall.  Immediately 
west  of  the  great  enclosure,  is  a  third,  intermediate  in 
size  between  the  other  two,  and  furnished  with  a  double 
wall  (Fig.  i6jg)  ;  and  at  the  north-west  corner  is  a  small 
building  with  three  cell-like  apartments  (Fig.  i6,/). 
The  two  lesser  enclosures  are  furnished  with  stone-lined 
drains,  which  have  not  yet  been  fully  excavated.  With- 
in the  north-west  corner  of  the  great  enclosure  is  the 
famous  monolithic  gateway,  shown  in  PI.  XIX  and  Fig. 
1 6,  <i'),  which  is  the  most  remarkable  ruin  in  America. 
The  term  ruin  is  used  advisedly,  because  at  some  period 
it  has  been  broken  in  two  pieces,  but,  since  the  photo- 
graph reproduced  in  the  plate  was  taken,  the  two  frag- 
ments have  been  placed  in  their  proper  relation.  Cut 
from  a  single  block  of  andesite,  it  measures  lo  feet 
by  12  feet  6  inches,  and  the  weight  is  estimated  at  over 
9,  or,  according  to  another  authority,  over  I2,  tons. 
Along  the  "lintel"  runs  a  frieze,  cut  in  relief,  repre- 
senting a  large  figure,  shown  full-face,  flanked  on  either 
side  by  three  rows  of  smaller  figures  in  profile,  and  be- 
neath this  is  a  second  narrower  frieze  of  sun-faces  and 
meanders  terminating  in  condor-heads. 

The  central  figure  is  shown  in  Fig.  17.  It  represents 
a  being  in  human  form  with  abbreviated  legs,  the  head 
surrounded  with  rays  terminating  in  puma-heads  and 
circles.  Similar  puma-head  decoration  is  seen  on  the 
fringes  of  his  tunic  skirt  and  sleeves,  his  belt,  and  at  the 


PLA'J'E   XVJII 


P6 

2^^ 

■1 

^^1  *      ^^^^1 

Si 

I 

1 

PERU 

MODKI.S    OK    CAKVKn    STONICS:    TiAHUANACO,     Boi.lVIA 

(Scale  :    1/200TH) 


I'K  RU 
TiiK  MoNoi.nHir  siaikwav:  Tiahuanaco,   Bolivia 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES    171 

end  of  the  engraved  band  which  runs  from  each  eye 
down  his  cheek.  On  his  chest  he  bears  an  ornament 
representing  an  animal  with  a  fish-like  body,  curved 
into  a  semilunar  shape,  and  with  a  head  similar  to  those 


Fig.  17.— Central  figure  of  PI.  XIX  (scale  t".t  ;  after  Stiibel  and  Uhle). 

which  fringe  the  skirt  of  the  tunic,  supported  on  an 
indeterminate  object  flanked  by  bands  terminating  in 
condor-heads.  This  object  is  repeated  on  the  orna- 
mental bands  which  run  from  his  shoulders  to  his 
belt.  In  each  of  his  hands  he  holds  a  kind  of  staff,  the 
butt-end  of  which  is  carved  to  represent  the  head  of  a 
condor,  but   here  the  resemblance   between  the  two 


172  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

ceases.  The  upper  portion  of  that  in  the  right  hand  is 

single,  and  a  small  condor 

rests  on  the  inner  surface 

of  the  extremity  ;  that  in 

the   left   hand   is   double, 

each  branch  terminating  in 

a  condor-head.  The  figure 

stands  on  a  kind  of  throne, 

again     ornamented     with 

heads  of  the  condor. 

The  lesser  figures  (Fig. 
1 8)  are  arranged  in  three 
rows  on  either  side  of  the 
principal  figure,  and  the 
figures  composing  each 
row  resemble  one  another 
and  those  of  the  row  oppo- 
site. Each  figure  repre- 
sents a  man  in  ceremonial 
bird-like  dress,  with  wings 
and  a  tail,  while  those  of 
the  central  row  wear  bird- 
masks  also.  All  are  crowned 
with  fringed  diadems  ;  in 
the  case  of  the  figures  in 
the  top  rows,  the  diadem 
represents  a  condor  with 
uplifted  head  and  tail;  in 
the  centre  rows,  possibly  a 
fish ;  in  the  bottom  rows,  a 
puma ;  while  the  fringes  of 
the  diadems,  and  the  wings 
and  tails  of  the  dresses,  ter- 
minate in  fish- and  condor- 
heads.    The  figures  in  the       Fig.  iS.— Siiie  figures  of  pi.  xix 

1  .         ,^    k^o^  (scale  i  ;  after  Sttibel  and  Uhle). 

top  and  centre  rows  bear        ^        ^' 

staves  similar  to  that  in  the  left  hand  of  the  central  figure, 


PLATE   XIX 


<   ^ 


9  'X 

y.    L. 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES    173 

except  that  they  are  ornamented  with  fish-heads  ;  those 
in  the  bottom  rows  carry  staves  similar  to  that  in  his 
right  hand.  Any  vacant  spaces  on  the  bodies  of  the 
figures  are  filled  with  bird-  and  fish-heads,  a  wing  is  re- 
presented behind  the  eye,  and  an  engraved  band  runs 
down  each  cheek,  terminating  in  the  head  of  a  fish  or  the 
tail  of  a  bird. 

The  reverse  side  of  the  gateway  is  furnished  with  a 
number  of  deep  niches,  the  two  largest  of  which  appear 
to  have  been  fitted  with  doors.  Its  present  position 
cannot  be  explained,  and  it  has  probably  been  moved 
from  its  original  site  at  some  period  unknown.  Other 
monolithic  gateways,  entire  and  in  fragments,  with 
ornamentation  of  a  similar  type  have  also  been  found 
in  the  neighbourhood.  Other  remains  discovered  in 
the  great  enclosure  are  a  large  slab  opposite  the  centre 
of  the  recess  in  the  western  side  (Fig.  16,  ^),  and  a 
monolithic  statue  ;  but  though  a  trench  has  been  driven 
across  it  from  east  to  west,  no  trace  of  other  buildings 
has  been  found.  Several  colossal  statues  have  been  dis- 
covered in  the  neighbourhood,  many  of  them  holding 
goblets  similar  in  shape  to  those  on  PI.  XX,  9,  and  Fig. 
26,  and  ornamented  in  relief  with  designs  conceived  in 
a  style  exactly  similar  to  those  on  the  gateway.  Not 
far  from  these  ruins,  to  the  south-west,  is  a  site  strewn 
with  stone  blocks  in  the  utmost  confusion  in  front  of 
a  low  horse-shoe-shaped  mound.  Many  of  them  are 
of  colossal  proportions,  and  all  of  them  worked  with  a 
skill  hardly  paralleled,  and  never  surpassed,  in  the 
archaeology  of  any  country.  Of  these  a  few  models  ^ 
are  shown  in  PI.  XVIII,  i,  which  affords  but  a  poor  idea 
of  the  great  variety  of  their  forms.  With  them  is  shown 
an  even  larger  slab,  measuring  about  13  ft.  6  in.  square, 
which  lies  to  the  east  of  the  great  enclosure,  and  suggests 
the  floor  of  a  small  shrine.  Theanglesof  these  blocks  are 
extraordinarily  true,  and  the  presence,  in  many  cases, 
*  Constructed  from  the  particulars  given  by  Stiibel  and  Uhle. 


174  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

of  counter-sunk  fittings  for  copper  clamps  (many  of 
which  have  been  found  in  this  neighbourhood)  shows 
that  they  must  have  been  intended  for,  or  perhaps 
actually  composed,  a  building  or  buildings  ornamented 
with  niches.  These  blocks  show  that  the  art  of  archi- 
tecture must  have  attained  some  degree  of  perfection, 
since  they  can  only  have  been  fashioned  in  accordance 
with  a  preconceived  plan.  Any  attempt  at  reconstruc- 
tion is,  unfortunately,  rendered  impossible  owing  to 
the  fact  that  the  builders  of  the  neighbouring  town  of 
La  Paz  used  this  wonderful  site  as  a  quarry  from  which 
to  obtain  ready-dressed  blocks  for  the  construction  of 
their  houses  and  the  paving  of  their  market-place. 

On  the  most  recently  excavated  carvings,  traces  of 
paint  have  been  found  ;  for  instance  Courty  discovered 
a  puma-head  with  blue  eyes  and  a  red  mouth,  and  it 
seems  probable  that  all  the  reliefs  and  statues  were  origi- 
nally ornamented  in  similar  fashion.  To  return  to  the 
monolithic  gateway,  various  explanations  of  the  frieze 
have  been  suggested.  As  far  as  the  central  figure  is  con- 
cerned, the  mind  turns  naturally  to  the  great  creator-god 
associated  with  the  locality,  Uiracocha.  The  rays  round 
his  head  may  well  represent  the  llautu  or  royal  fringe, 
which,  according  to  one  of  the  chroniclers,  typified  the 
rays  of  the  sun  ;  while  the  semi-lunar  breast-ornament 
suggests  the  plate  worn  by  the  Villac  Umu,  which  sym- 
bolized the  moon.  The  objects  which  he  holds  are  more 
difficult  to  explain ;  it  has  been  suggested  that  they 
are  respectively  a  club  and  a  bolas,  but  a  more  likely 
theory  identifies  them  with  a  spear-thrower  and  a  quiver 
of  darts. ^  Such  insignia  well  befit  the  god  who  dwells 
"  in  the  heights  of  heaven,  in  the  thunder  and  in  the 

*  Even  this  explanation  is  not  entirely  satisfactory.  The  object  in  the 
left  hand  seems  to  resemble  the  ornament  on  the  tunic,  which  in  its  turn 
resembles  the  design  below  the  puma-headed  fish.  This  last,  especially, 
can  hardly  be  regarded  as  either  a  bolas  or  a  quiver  containing  two  darts. 
I  must  confess,  however,  that  I  am  at  a  loss  for  a  better  explanation. 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES    175 

storm-clouds."  Moreover,  as  we  have  seen  on  p.  157, 
the  double-headed  belt  may  typify  the  lightning.  The 
continual  repetition  of  the  condor  and  puma,  animals 
sacred  throughout  practically  the  whole  of  the  Andean 
region,  constitutes  a  fitting  ornament  to  the  dress  of  the 
supreme  deity.  The  subsidiary  figures  would  then  re- 
present the  membersof  three  ayllu,  each  clad  in  the  dress 
of  the  huaca  of  their  respective  clans ;  and  it  is  worth 
mentioning  in  this  connection  that  the  immigrants  led 
by  Manco  from  the  south  to  the  Cuzco  valley  are  said 
by  Sarmiento  to  have  been  divided  into  three  ayllu. 

The  art  of  Tiahuanaco  is  distinguished  by  certain 
well-marked  features,  notably  a  remarkable  boldness 
and  certainty  of  outline,  recalling  in  some  respects  that 
of  the  north-west  coast  of  North  America,  and  also  by  a 
number  of  peculiar  conventions.  Of  the  latter  the  princi- 
pal are  the  three-fingered  hand  (Fig.  17),  the  circular 
nostrils  of  the  puma-heads  when  shown  in  profile,  and 
the  angular  S-shaped  ear  attributed  both  to  birds  and 
beasts.  The  two  latter  features  are  well  shown  on  the 
fragment  of  a  beautifully  carved  stone  cup  illustrated  in 
Fig.  26.  Pumas  and  condors  painted  in  a  style  exactly 
similar  to  the  carvings,  are  found  on  the  pottery  vessels, 
of  which  the  most  typical  are  the  beakers  shown  on 
PI.  XX,  7-9. 

At  the  ruined  fortress  of  Chavin  de  Huantar,  far  to 
the  north  of  Tiahuanaco,  the  discovery  was  made  of  a 
remarkable  stone,  some  twenty-five  feet  long,  which  had 
fallen  from  the  facade  of  the  building.  This  monolith 
is  of  diorite,  rectangular  in  shape,  and,  though  the  for- 
tress itself  is  of  Inca  construction,  is  evidently  of  far 
greater  age.  The  design  engraved  on  one  surface  is 
shown  in  Fig.  19, and  is  traced  from  a  photograph, which 
the  writer  owes  to  the  courtesy  of  Professor  Uhle.  The 
design  is  confused,  but  a  little  study  reveals  a  figure 
bearing  a  distinct  resemblance  to  the  central  figure  of 
the  Tiahuanaco  frieze, though  the  style  is  very  different. 


176  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 


Fig.  19. 


Sculptuied   monolith,    from  Chavin  de 
Huantar.     (Lima  Museum.) 


In   each    hand    he 
holds  a  staff,  and 
these  staves,  unlike 
the  objects  held  by 
the  Tiahuanaco  fig- 
ure,  are  exactly 
similar,   though 
they  are  too  over- 
loaded with  orna- 
mentfor  their  exact 
nature  to  be  deter- 
mined.   Round  his 
waist  is  a  belt  in  the 
form  of  a  grotesque 
face,  terminating  at 
each  extremity  in  a 
double    fillet    fur- 
nished with  eyes. 
But  the  most  curi- 
ous feature  of  the 
figure  is  the  head, 
which  is  quite  inex- 
plicable   until    the 
figure  is  turned  up- 
side down.    When 
this  is  done,  a  series 
of  monstrous  faces 
(B-F)  can  be  dis- 
tinguished issuing 
onefrom  the  mouth 
of  the  other,  fur- 
nished   with     for- 
midable tusks  and 
surrounded     with 
rays  resembling 
conventional      os- 
trich-feathers and 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES    177 

fillets  with  eyes.  From  the  mouth  of  the  last  face 
protrudes  a  tongue,  G,  also  overloaded  with  conven- 
tional ornament.  The  principal  face,  B,  has  under- 
neath the  eyes  the  U-shaped  mark  so  often  seen  in 
the  conventional  faces  of  the  Maya,  and,  to  antici- 
pate, this  U-shaped  mark  is  replaced  in  the  pottery 
characteristic  of  Nasca,  by  a  simple  horizontal  band 
(see  the  faces  on  the  vase  PI.  I,  Fig.  2).  Over  the  princi- 
pal face  is  a  diadem.  A,  with  a  puma-head  in  front,  like 
those  worn  by  the  figures  in  the  lowest  row  of  the  Tia- 
huanaco  frieze.  The  full-face  position  of  this  puma- 
head  is  expressed  somewhat  conventionally  by  placing 
two  profiles  face  to  face  and  joining  the  mouths;  when 
each  half  of  the  puma-face  is  regarded  as  a  profile,  the  shape 
of  the  nostril  suggests  strongly  the  conventions  of  Tia- 
huanaco  art.  Below  the  principal  face  follow  the  subsi- 
diary faces  in  order,C,D,E  and  F,  each  issuing  from  the 
mouth  of  the  other,  the  series  terminating  in  a  tongue, 
G.  A  grotesque  face  of  similar  character  can  also  be  seen 
on  each  staff  immediately  below  the  elbow  of  the  figure. 
Both  in  general  appearance  and  in  certain  details, though 
not  in  all,  this  remarkable  figure  bears  some  resemblance 
to  the  Maya  carvings  of  Yucatan,  while  the  reversed 
position  of  the  head  and  the  "  ostrich-feather  "  rays  can 
be  paralleled  in  some  of  the  reliefs  of  Ecuador  (Fig.  3). 
The  position  of  the  personage  portrayed,  and  his  attri- 
butes, seem  to  connect  him  with  the  god  of  the  heavens ; 
the  rays  may  well  be  those  of  the  sun,  the  staves  thunder- 
bolts, while  the  reversed  position  of  his  multiple  heads 
may  indicate  in  conventional  fashion  that  his  gaze  is 
turned  skyward.  But  for  any  closer  parallel  we  must 
leave  the  sierra  and  descend  to  the  coast.  Here  we  come 
into  direct  contact  with  the  results  achieved  by  Uhlc, 
whoselongresearches,carried  out  on  scientific  principles, 
have  at  last  given  us  the  material  on  which  to  base  a  sys- 
tem of  comparative  chronology. 

In  his  excavations  at  Pachacamac,  he  discovered  that 


178  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

the  celebrated  temple,  erected  to  the  god  of  that  name, 
had  at  an  early  time  been  enlarged.  At  the  foot  of  the 
original  wall,  and  in  ground  covered  by  the  later  addi- 
tions, he  discovered  a  cemetery,  containing  pottery 
ornamented  in  the  unmistakable  style  of  Tiahuanaco 
(such  as  the  designs  shown  in  Fig.  20).  In  a  stratum  of 
earth  above  the  original  ground-level,  but  still  beneath 


Fig.  20. — Designs  in  the  Tiahuanaco  style  on  vases  found  near  Truxillo. 

the  later  buildings,  he  found  burials  containing  pottery 
ornamented  in  a  style  apparently  derived  from  the  last. 
Again,  at  the  foot  of  the  more  recent  construction,  an- 
other series  of  graves  was  examined,  which  contained 
black  wareof  a  type  commonon  thecoast  (PL  XXI, 2-5), 
associated  with  vases  of  Inca  type.  In  another  cemetery 
similar  black  ware  was  found  without  Inca  remains.  It 
has  thus  been  proved, at  any  rate  for  this  region,  that  four 
periods  can  be  distinguished  :  that  of  Tiahuanaco,  that 


/'/..///:     .\'.\ 


I'l'.RU 
I'm  TICK  V  Tyi'ES  : 
I.  2.  3.  Tkum  1,1.0  5.  Arka 

4.    IncA  6.    Kl'XUAY,    NKAK    TkIXIIIO 

7,  S,  9.  TnicACA 
(Scale  :    1-3,  1/61H  ;  4-9.   I  51  11) 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES     179 

distinguished  by  a  style  derived  from  the  former  (gener- 
ally known  as  the  red-white-black  period,  from  the 
colours  in  which  the  vases  are  painted),  that  of  the  black 
pottery,  and  that  of  the  Inca.  The  Tiahuanaco  style,  as  it 
appears  on  the  coast,  is  distinguished  from  that  in  the 
highlands  by  the  more  conventional  style  of  the  painting, 
and  by  the  far  greater  variety  of  colours  employed ;  but  the 
figure  shown  in  Fig  20,  ^,  unmistakably  represents  the 
personage  on  the  great  monolithic  gateway,  and  the  ob- 
jects which  he  holds  are  more  easily  recognizable  as 
spear-throwers  of  the  type  shown  still  more  realistically 
in  Fig.  8.  Vases  painted  in  this  style  are  found  through- 
out the  whole  coast,  from  Truxillo  to  Nasca.  But  though 
the  Tiahuanaco  style  appears  as  the  oldest  of  the  series  at 
Pachacamac,  it  does  not  hold  this  position  in  every  site. 
In  Truxillo,  from  the  archaeological  evidence  collected 
by  Uhle,  it  was  preceded  by  vases  painted  in  masterly 
fashion  in  red  on  a  white  slip,  and  others  modelled  with 
a  skill  which  even  a  modern  artist  might  envy  (Pis.  XX- 
XXII).  Here  too  follow  in  order  the  red-white-black 
type,  the  black,  and  the  Inca. 

The  fine  painted  ware  is  associated  with  walls  con- 
structed, not  of  adobes,  but  of  clay  balls,  piled  together 
and  left  to  dry  in  position.  At  Moche,  near  Truxillo, 
are  two  large  pyramids,  built  in  this  style,  but  now  so 
weathered  as  to  present  the  appearance  of  natural  hills; 
and  at  the  foot  of  one  is  a  cemetery,  with  walls  of 
similar  construction,  containing  the  fine  painted  ware. 
In  the  mass  of  the  pyramid  itself  have  been  found  graves 
containing  vases  in  the  Tiahuanaco  style,  and  the  in- 
ference is  that  the  pyramid  was  used  as  a  burial-place 
after  it  had  become  obsolete  as  a  place  of  worship.  This 
assumption  is  supported  by  the  fact  that  burials  of  the 
Tiahuanaco  type  have  been  discovered  in  ground  full 
of  fragments  of  the  fine  ware.  The  conclusion  is  almost 
inevitable  that,  at  Truxillo,  the  Tiahuanaco  style  is  later 
than  the  finer  vases. 


i8o  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCH/EOLOGY 

The  style  of  the  oldest  ware  from  the  Truxillo  dis- 
trict is,  as  said  above,  well  shown  in  Pis.  XX,  XXI, 
and  XXII  ;  but  though  it  differs  in  many  respects 
from  that  characteristic  of  Tiahuanaco,  a  closer  study 
reveals  certain  peculiar  similarities.  Take  for  instance 
Fig.  15.  Here  we  have  represented,  apparently,  a 
ceremonial  dance  ;  the  figures  wear  dresses  and  masks 
to  represent  animals,  the  first  a  falcon,  the  second  a 
fox,  the  third  a  pelican,  and  the  head  of  each  is  crowned 
with  a  head-dress  in  the  form  of  a  puma  or  tiger- 
cat.  Each  again  carries  an  object,  the  exact  nature 
of  which  cannot  be  determined,  but  which  is  divided 
above  the  hand  into  two  projections.  The  attitude 
of  the  personages  depicted,  the  animal  dresses,  es- 
pecially those  with  bird  wings  and  tails,  the  puma 
head-dresses,  and  the  bifid  object  in  the  hand,  all  recall 
the  series  of  minor  figures  on  the  great  gateway  at  Tia- 
huanaco. That  the  scene  represents  some  ceremony 
important  in  the  life  of  the  people  is  obvious  from  the 
fact  that,  in  a  series  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  of  these 
vases  recently  acquired  by  the  British  Museum  from 
the  Chicama  valley,  it  occurs  no  less  than  fifteen  times. 
The  animal  head-dress  and  the  belt  terminating  in 
animal  heads,  such  as  worn  by  the  central  figure  in  the 
Tiahuanaco  frieze,  are  found  as  constant  features  on 
vases  where  human  figures  are  depicted  (Fig.  10),  while 
condor-heads  are  also  common  as  terminals  (e.g.  to  the 
bands  depending  from  the  knives  held  by  the  figures  in 
the  same  illustration).  If  we  turn  now  to  the  Nasca  and 
Yea  valleys  in  the  south,  we  find  yet  another  style  of 
pottery,  of  which  two  examples  of  the  finest  type  appear 
on  PI.  I.  Here  the  decoration,  though  far  less  free  than 
that  of  the  Truxillo  vases,  surpasses  the  latter  in  the 
variety  of  the  colours  employed.  Vases  moulded  to 
represent  human  figures  are  as  rare  at  Nasca  as  they  are 
common  at  Truxillo,  and  in  this  respect  PI.  I,  Fig  i, 
is  not  typical,  though  the  painted  ornament  is  ;  but  the 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES    i8i 

crest  projecting  from  the  side  of  the  head-dress  is  quite 
in  the  Truxillo  style  (e.g.  PI.  XXII,  8),  and  the  designs 
on  many  of  the  vases,  both  from  Yea  and  Nasca,  show 
a  close  correspondence  with  Truxillo  art.  Again  we  find 
figures  clad  in  animal  dresses,  though  the  style,  being 
more  conventional,  is  in  this  respect  more  closely  allied 
to  that  of  Tiahuanaco ;  another  feature  recalling  the 
Tiahuanaco  art  is  the  fringe  of  faces  to  the  tunic  of  the 
figure  on  the  vase,  PI.  I,  Fig.  2  (compare  Fig.  17). 
But  the  closest  parallel  by  far  to  the  Nasca  style  is 
constituted  by  the  Chavin  monolith,  to  which  the  figure 
on  the  vase  shown  on  PI.  I,  Fig.  2,  bears  a  distinct  re- 
semblance. In  both  cases  we  have  the  same  exuberance 
of  detail,  as  if  the  artist  did  not  know  when  to  stop, 
the  same  multiplication  of  heads,  encircled  by  the  same 
"  ostrich-feather  "  rays.  Sometimes,  too,  the  head  of  a 
figure  is  shown  in  reversed  position,  as  on  the  Chavin 
monolith,  while  the  idea  of  faces  or  figures  issuing  from 
the  mouths  of  others  is  often  expressed  in  the  designs 
of  the  Nasca  vases.  The  figure  in  PI.  I,  Fig.  2, 
holds  two  serpents,  and,  as  we  have  seen,  the  ser- 
pent probably  typified  the  lightning  in  Peru.  It  is 
conceivable,  therefore,  that  here  too  we  have  a  repre- 
sentation of  the  all-powerful  sky-god  who  seems  to 
have  figured  at  the  head  of  the  Peruvian  pantheon. 
Two  of  the  features  shared  by  the  respective  styles  of 
the  Nasca  pots  and  the  Chavin  stone,  viz.  the  reversed 
heads  and  the  rays,  appear  also  in  the  stone  carvings  of 
Manabi  ;  but  the  art  of  the  latter  locality  and  that  of 
Nasca  have  another  point  in  common.  In  both  the 
spider  appears  as  an  ornamental  motive,  conventional- 
ized in  much  the  same  manner. 

Excavations  carried  on  by  Uhle  in  the  Lima  valley, 
show  that  the  Nasca  art,  or  a  style  derived  immediately 
from  it,  prevailed  here  also  at  an  early  period,  and  was 
associated  with  a  class  of  building  resembling  the  early 
mounds  at  Moche. 


i82  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

Pottery  in  the  Tiahuanaco  style  is  also  found  under 
conditions  which  suggest  a  later  date.  It  is  of  particu- 
lar interest  to  note  that  in  this  neighbourhood  the  ear- 
liest graves  contained  bodies  buried  extended  at  full 
length,  that  is  to  say  in  a  position  extremely  rare 
in  Peru.  In  the  graves  in  which  pottery  of  the  Tia- 
huanaco style  was  found,  however,  the  dead  were 
arranged  in  the  usual  contracted  posture,  though  at 
Tiahuanaco  itself  bodies  buried  in  a  horizontal  position 
were  found  by  Courty. 

The  Nasca  style  is,  moreover,  found  at  Pachacamac, 
though  not  in  relation  with  the  stratified  graves  at  the 
foot  of  the  ancient  temple,  but  from  the  evidence 
yielded  by  the  neighbouring  valleys,  it  may  be  assumed 
that  the  Nasca  style  is  here  too  the  earliest.  At  Chancay 
and  Ancon,  pottery  of  a  style  related  to  that  of  Nasca 
also  occurs,  but  in  these  localities  remains  of  an  even 
earlier  date  are  found.  These  are  the  relics  of  a  primi- 
tive fishing  population,  who  did  not  possess  metal,  but 
used  implements  of  bone,  and,  though  very  unskilled 
in  weaving,  manufactured  basket-work  of  good  quality. 
Their  pottery  is  not  painted,  but  engraved.  These  re- 
mains are  found  in  shell-heaps,  similar  to  those  which, 
as  will  be  seen  in  a  later  chapter,  fringe  the  Chilean 
coast,  some  being  at  a  considerable  distance  from  the  sea. 
This  primitive  population  came  in  contact  with  the 
makers  of  the  fine  painted  ware,  and  in  many  of  the 
graves  pottery  of  the  Nasca  type  is  common,  showing 
that  they  plundered  the  graves  of  the  settlers  from 
Nasca,  and  used  their  pots,  besides,  towards  the  end  of 
their  period,  copying  the  Nasca  designs.  At  Chancay 
the  Tiahuanaco  style  follows  next,  and  it  is  possible  to 
trace  the  development  of  the  red-white-black  from  it  ; 
and  again  the  evolution  of  the  black  and  white  type, 
so  characteristic  of  this  neighbourhood,  by  the  omis- 
sion of  the  red  pigment.  Upon  this  last  style  super- 
venes that  of  the  Inca. 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES     183 

The  conclusion,  therefore,  seems  to  be  inevitable  that 
the  Tiahuanaco  style  is  later  on  the  coast  than  certain  local 
styles,  exemplified  in  that  of  Truxillo  and  that  of  Nasca, 
but  that  a  connection,  at  any  rate  psychological,  under- 
lies all  three.      Turning  now  to  the  south-east  of  the 


Fig.  21. — a  from  a  vase,  Truxillo,  Peru. 

b       ,,         ,,      Tinogasta,  Argentina. 

c       ,,         ,,      Andalgala  ,, 

d       ,,         ,,      Recuay,  Peru. 

e       ,,        ,,      Santa  Maria,  Argentina. 

{b,  c,  e  after  Lafone  Quevedo.) 

Tiahuanaco  district,  we  find  what  appear  to  be  certain 
traces  of  the  Tiahuanaco  style  in  north-west  Argentina. 
For  instance  the  engraved  potsherd  found  at  Tinogasta 
shown  in  Fig.  2 1  ,(^, bears  a  close  resemblance  to  the  cen- 
tral figure  of  the  Tiahuanaco  gate;  and  the  monster, 
Fig.  21,/?,  from  an  engraved  vase  from  the  Calchaqui 
valley,  resembles  as  closely  the  animal  from  a  painted 
red-white-black  vase  found  at  Recuay  (Fig.  21,  ^) ;  and 


1 84  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

the  designs  of  the  red-white-black  ware,  which  is  found 
along  the  coast  from  Truxillo  to  Pachacamac,  are  them- 
selves derived  from  the  art  of  Tiahuanaco.  The  ques- 
tion becomes  more  complicated  when  practically  the 
same  monster  is  found  on  many  of  the  older  Truxillo 
pots  (Fig.  2 1,  rt),  treated  with  the  freedom  characteristic 
of  the  art  of  that  region. 

The  black  pottery  (PI.  XXI,  2-5),  common  on  the 
coast  from  Truxillo  to  Pachacamac,  next  demands  atten- 
tion. It  is  found  in  greatest  quantities  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Truxillo,  and,  though  it  is  indisputably  more 
recent  than  the  Tiahuanaco  style  of  pottery,it  is  superior 
in  technique  even  to  the  fine  pots  characteristic  of  the 
early  Truxillo  period.  But  though  the  makers  of  this 
black  ware  were  better  artisans,  they  were  far  inferior  as 
artists.  Since  the  colour  of  the  vases  did  not  admit  of 
painted  decoration,  the  potter  was  compelled  to  employ 
moulded  and  engraved  ornament  alone,  and  the  model- 
ling, though  based  upon  the  early  Truxillo  style  (e.g. 
PI.  XXI,  5),  is  far  inferior  to  it.  From  the  excavatory 
evidence  it  is  clear  that  this  black  pottery  was  the  pre- 
dominant type  in  the  region  of  the  coast  above  men- 
tioned during  the  period  immediately  preceding,  and 
subsequent  to,  the  Inca  conquest. 

The  problem  presented  by  the  researches  of  Uhle  is 
by  no  means  easy  of  solution,  but  it  is  possible  to  base 
upon  them  a  tentative  reconstruction  of  the  early  history 
of  Peru.  Excluding  the  primitive  fishing  population 
mentioned  above,  the  earliest  inhabitants  seem  to  have 
been  fairly  homogeneous;  though  three  culture-centres 
may  be  distinguished,  at  Truxillo,  Nasca  and  Tiahua- 
naco, which  seem  to  have  sprung  from  a  common  root, 
though  they  developed,  at  first  in  isolation,  on  different 
lines.  In  the  north,  the  art  of  modelling  was  found  at 
its  best,  extending  into  the  region  of  Manabi,  and  paint- 
ing occurred  in  its  freest  and  most  vigorous  style.  In 
the  south,  the  art  developed  in  the  direction  of  colour. 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES     185 

but  lost  in  effect  through  over-luxuriant  conventional- 
ization. In  the  highlands,  it  maintained  a  severer  style 
than  at  Nasca,  and  found  its  fullest  expression  in  stone, 
achieving  results  unparalleled  in  America.  "  In  the 
highlands  "  is  written  advisedly,  since  many  authorities 
hold  that  the  cyclopean  structures  beyond  the  immediate 
region  of  Tiahuanaco,  such  as  the  ramparts  of  the  Sacsa- 
huaman  fortress  at  Cuzco  (PI.  XV),  portions  of  the 
fortifications  at  Ollantaitambo  (PL  XII,  i),and  the  larger 
polygonal  style  (PI.  VII,  4),  are  relics  of  this  early  cul- 
ture. These  three  centres  were  flourishing  when  a 
new  phase  becomes  evident  ;  the  art  of  Tiahuanaco 
appears  throughout  the  coast,  not  indeed  in  stone,  for 
stone  was  lacking  in  this  region,  but  in  pottery,  and, 
locally,  in  textiles.  Thegeneral  supersession  of  thecoastal 
styles  by  this  inland  art  can  hardly  be  explained  except 
on  the  hypothesis  that  thehighlanders  overran  the  mari- 
time region,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  latter  adopted 
the  style  of  their  conquerors.  It  is  obvious  that  most 
of  the  vases,  painted  in  the  Tiahuanaco  style,  which 
have  been  found  on  the  coast,  are  the  work  of  local 
artists  ;  instead  of  the  simple  black  and  white  pigments 
found  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tiahuanaco  itself,  a 
variety  of  colours  often  appear  (as  can  be  seen  in  Fig.  20, 
where  they  are  indicated  by  shading),  and  polychrome 
designs  are  typical  of  the  Nasca  art  and  its  derivatives. 
Moreover  in  many  cases  the  artist,  working  in  an  un- 
familiar style,  loses  the  vigour  of  the  original  design, 
and  even  in  some  cases  misunderstands  it.^  Nor  was  the 
Tiahuanaco  influence  exerted  only  in  the  direction  of 
the  coast,  since  traces  of  it  can  be  seen  also  in  north- 

^  Uhle  divides  the  Tiahuanaco  style  as  found  on  the  coast  into  two 
periods  ;  Tiahuanaco  style  proper,  and  a  later  derived  type  which  he 
terms  "  Epigonal."  It  seems  almost  impossible  to  make  a  definite  dis- 
tinction, there  must  from  the  first  have  been  considerable  variation 
according  to  the  skill  and  intelligence  of  the  artist,  but  still  a  gradual 
transition  seems  to  have  taken  ])lace  from  the  "  classical  "  Tiahuanaco 
designs  to  the  later  style  of  the  coast. 


1 86  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

west  Argentina.  The  Tiahuanaco  domination  seems 
to  have  lasted  long  enough  to  extinguish  the  local  arts, 
except  at  Truxillo,  which  was  perhaps  the  last  region  to 
be  reduced ;  and,  when  its  influence  waned,  a  new  style, 
still  bearing  a  relation  to  the  imposed  art,  appeared,  the 
red-white-black,  and  its  later  derivatives. 

But  the  unitingof  the  maritime  region  under  a  single, 
if  only  temporary,  control,  had  produced  considerable 
intercommunication  between  the  various  coastal  dis- 
tricts, so  that  the  distribution  of  the  red-white-black 
type  was  fairly  uniform  ;  and  when  a  degenerate  variety 
of  the  older  art  made  its  appearance  in  the  black  ware 
of  Truxillo,  it  spread  readily  down  the  coast  to  meet  at 
Pachacamac  the  advancing  wave  of  Inca  culture.  The 
Chavin  stone  is  as  yet  unexplained,  and  certainly  pro- 
vides a  difiiculty.  Like  as  it  is  to  the  Tiahuanaco  sculp- 
tures, it  bears  a  closer  resemblance  to  the  painted  style 
of  Nasca.  It  is  probably  the  result  of  the  reaction  of 
the  Nasca  art  on  that  of  Tiahuanaco,  and  it  may  well  be 
that,  just  as  the  Tiahuanaco  style  is  later  on  the  coast 
than  that  of  Nasca,  so  the  Nasca  style  is  later  in  the  high- 
lands than  that  of  Tiahuanaco.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  this  Nasca-Chavin  style  seems  also  to  have  reached 
the  north-west  Argentine,  as  can  be  seen  from  the  de- 
tail from  a  vase  engraving  shown  in  Fig.  21,  <:. 

If  this  interpretation  of  the  archaeological  evidence  is 
correct,  there  seems  yet  more  reason  to  believe  that  the 
account  of  Montesinos  is  based  on  genuine  tradition, 
garbled  and  perverted  it  is  true,  but  containing  never- 
theless a  substratum  of  fact.  The  rulers  of  his  early  list, 
viewed  in  this  light,  become  the  sovereigns  of  the  Tia- 
huanaco empire.  Whether  the  seat  of  government  re- 
mained fixed  at  Tiahuanaco,  or  whether  it  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  more  fertile  Cuzco  valley,  it  is  impossible 
to  say,  at  any  rate  Cuzco  and  Ollantaitambo  must  have 
been  two  of  the  most  important  frontier  fortresses  of  the 
early  empire.     It  is  quite  true  that  a  difficulty  is  consti- 


PLATE   XXI 


PHRU 
I.  Caknki)  stom",  vi-.ssi-.i.  :  ('r/.co 
2-5.  Bi.Acic  I'OTTEyn-:  Tkixiiio 
6-8.  Red  i-ottkuv  :  Tkhxiuo 
(Scale:   I,  i/i2Tfi  ;  2-5,  i/grn;  6-S.  i/6th) 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES     187 

tuted  by  the  fact  that  pottery  of  the  Tiahuanaco  type  has 
not  been  found  in  the  highlands  north  of  Titicaca,  but  the 
archaeology  of  the  highlands  is  very  imperfectly  known- 
No  graves  of  undoubtedly  early  date  have  been  dis- 
covered (exceptatTiahuanaco  itselfand  inTiticacaisland) 
and  theclimaticconditions  in  this  region  are  not  favour- 
able to  the  preservation  of  remains  for  a  great  lapse  of 
time,  as  in  the  coastlands,  except  at  great  altitudes  such 
as  the  Titicaca  region  itself  It  may  be  that  the  con- 
quest of  the  Cordillera  north  of  Ollantaitambo  has 
been  transferred  by  Montesinos  from  the  latter  Inca 
empire  to  the  period  covered  by  his  early  list  of  kings, 
and  that  the  Tiahuanaco  dominion  may  have  been  con- 
fined to  the  Collao  and  the  coast ;  but  this  leaves  the 
Chavin  monolith  unexplained.  However,  in  the  present 
imperfect  state  of  our  knowledge  an  entirely  satisfac- 
tory explanation  cannot  be  expected  ;  it  is  only  possible 
to  put  forward  a  tentative  theory  which  must  be  modi- 
fied in  accordance  with  future  researches.  It  is  worth 
while  calling  attention  to  a  tradition  which,  according 
to  Garcilasso,  existed  among  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Chincha  valley.  They  stated  that  in  former  times  they 
were  a  powerful  people,  making  frequent  razzias  in  the 
Collao.  Though  Garcilasso  discredits  the  tradition,  it 
may  have  been  based  on  fact,  and  may  have  called  forth 
reprisals  on  the  part  of  the  Tiahuanaco  rulers,  leading 
to  the  conquest  of  the  coast.  It  is  probable,  too,  that 
some  such  intercommunion  took  place,  owing  to  which 
designs  such  as  that  shown  in  Fig.  21  filtered  through 
from  the  coast  to  the  Argentine. 

An  interesting  point  in  connection  with  the  repre- 
sentations of  the  creator-god  of  Tiahuanaco  and  his 
worshippers  has  not  hitherto  been  noticed.  On  looking 
at  Fig.  17  it  will  be  seen  that  the  engraved  bands  run- 
ning down  each  cheek  from  the  eye  contain  two  en- 
graved circles,  and  the  same  feature  is  observable  in  the 
case  of  the  lesser  figures  (Fig.  18).  In  the  vases  painted 


1 88  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

in  similar  style  from  the  coast  (Fig.  20)  these  bands  con- 
taining circles  are  particularly  noticeable.  The  circles 
strongly  suggest  tears,  and  the  probability  that  they 
were  actually  intended  as  such  is  greatly  strengthened 
by  the  fact  that  masks,  on  which  tears  were  painted,  were 
worn  by  the  Chibcha  at  the  ceremonies  held  on  the 
occasion  of  the  harvest  (see  p.  32).  As  the  Tiahuanaco 
god  was  evidently  a  sky-god,  it  is  probable  that  these 
tears  represent  the  fertilizing  rain,  and  the  fact,  that  no 
such  symbolism  occurs  in  the  art  of  the  coast  before  the 
introduction  of  the  Tiahuanaco  style,  can  be  explained 
by  the  circumstance  that  rain  was  extremely  rare  in  that 
region.  The  early  chronicler  explains  the  tears  on  the 
Chibcha  mask  as  an  appeal  to  the  pity  of  the  supreme 
powers,  but  it  is  quite  possible  that  he  did  not  fully  un- 
derstand the  meaning  implied,  and  that  here  too  they 
were  symbolical  of  rain,  especially  as  the  ceremony  was 
connected  with  the  harvest.  A  pottery  head  with  what 
appear  to  be  indications  of  tears  has  been  found  in 
Ecuador  and  is  figured  in  Gonzales  Suarez'  Atlas  Arqueo- 
/c^/Vc,  Pl.VIIjrt.  On  the  fine  funerary  vases  characteristic 
of  the  Diaguite  region  in  north-west  Argentina,  tears  are 
also  represented  (Fig.  28,  a^  and  it  may  be  that  the  chil- 
dren whose  bodies  these  vases  contain  were  sacrificed  to 
the  sky-god  worshipped  there.  The  same  feature  is  seen 
on  the  fine  bronze  shown  in  Fig.  30,  a.  Still  more  inter- 
esting does  the  question  become  when  it  is  noticed  that 
grooves  running  from  the  eyes  over  the  cheeks  are  a 
common  characteristic  of  the  idols  of  the  ancient  in- 
habitants of  Jamaica,"  especially  as  these  grooves  were 
evidently  emphasized  by  inlay,  probably  of  shell.  Some 
of  the  anthropomorphic  vases  from  the  island  of  Marajo 

1  It  is  a  noticeable  fact  that  the  double-headed  snake,  which,  there  is 
reason  to  believe,  typified  the  lightning,  frequently  appears  on  these  vases  ; 
see  the  illustration  quoted. 

2  See  Journal  of  the  R.  Anthrop.  Inst.,  Vol.  XXXVII,  Pis. 
XLVIII  and  XLIX. 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES     189 

in  the  Amazon  estuary  also  seem  to  show  traces  of 
painted  tears,  after  the  fashion  of  the  Argentine  urns, 
but  this  is  not  so  certain.  In  any  case  the  convention 
seems  extremely  widespread,  and  appears  to  imply  that 
the  fundamental  ideas  underlying  the  religions  of  a  great 
part  of  South  America  and  the  early  population  of  the 
Antilles  were  closely  akin. 

This  is  a  convenient  place  at  which  todeal  shortly  with 
the  question  of  external  influence  on  South  American 
culture.  Many  archaeologists  in  the  past  have  found  it 
difficult  to  believe  that  the  culture  of  the  Andes  at  its 
highest  could  be  of  indigenous  origin,  and  have  sought 
its  source  in  Egypt,  China  and  other  parts  of  Asia,  Poly- 
nesia and  the  fabulous  Atlantis.  At  the  present  time  it  is 
recognized  that,  given  an  environment  where  the  con- 
ditions of  life  are  not  too  arduous,  there  is  no  reason 
why  a  culture  of  a  high  type  should  not  develop  inde- 
pendently of  other  culture-centres ;  and  that  external 
influence  ought  not  to  be  inferred  without  explicit  evi- 
dence. As  we  have  seen,  the  evolution  of  the  difi'erent 
varieties  of  llama,  and  of  the  potato-culture,  imply 
centuries  of  settled  life;  while  the  fact  that  the  American 
languages  stand,  structurally,  apart  from  those  of  the 
rest  of  the  world  proves  that  any  immigration  which 
may  have  taken  place  from  elsewhere  can  have  been  but 
inconsiderable.  Traditions  of  immigration  exist,  as  has 
been  stated,  at  Manabi  and  Lambayeque,  and  Garcilasso 
writes  that  the  people  of  Chincha  preserved  the  tradition 
thattheir  ancestors  had  come  from  a  far  country.  Monte- 
sinos,  again,  chronicles  the  arrival  of  immigrants  upon 
the  coast.  The  Lambayeque  legend  is  the  most  im- 
portant, since  it  preserves  the  names  of  the  chief  and 
his  successors,  and  the  titles  (or  names)  of  his  chief 
officers.  The  legend  is  related  by  Balboa,  and  it  is  well 
known  that  the  early  Spanish  chroniclers  were  very  accu- 
rate in  the  transcription  of  native  words,  both  as  regards 
Peru  and  Oceania.     Mr.  S.  H.  Ray,  one  of  the  lead- 


190  SOUTPI  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

ing  authorities  on  Oceanic  languages,  fails  to  identify 
these  terms  with  any  Polynesian  or  Melanesian  dialect, 
and  states  that,  in  his  opinion,  they  bear  far  greater  re- 
semblance to  some  American  tongue.  The  inference 
is  that  the  Lambayeque  immigration  proceeded  from 
some  other  point  of  the  American  coast  ;  and  if  this  is 
the  case  with  the  Lambayeque  immigration,  why  not 
with  the  others  ?  Certainly  the  two  following  facts  in 
combination  tell  in  favour  of  an  indigenous  origin  for 
the  Andean  culture  ;  firstly,  the  purely  "  American  " 
character  of  the  languages,  and  secondly  the  homogeneity 
which  seems  to  underlie  the  Andean  culture  from  Colom- 
bia to  Bolivia  and  the  highland  provinces  of  the  north- 
west Argentine.  Another  point  is  worthy  of  attention. 
Any  people  arriving  on  the  Pacific  coast  must  have  been 
skilled  seamen,and  it  seems  incredible  that,  after  settling, 
they  should  have  proceeded  immediately  to  forget  their 
craft,  especially  as  their  chief  source  of  nourishment 
must  have  been  the  sea.  Yet  throughout  the  whole  of 
the  coast  of  South  America  nothing  but  the  most  primi- 
tive form  of  raft  was  found,  and  it  appears  that  sails 
were  entirely  unknown  south  of  Tumbez.  It  is  not 
possible,  or  even  reasonable,  to  deny  that  occasionally 
a  stray  canoe  manned  by  Polynesians  may  have  made 
the  American  coast;  it  is  known  that  the  eastern  Poly- 
nesians were  expert  and  daring  mariners,  and  there  is 
reason  to  believe,  on  the  strength  of  a  tradition,  that  the 
Maori  penetrated  even  into  Antarctic  waters.  Besides 
this  certain  of  the  food-plants,  notably  the  sweet  potato, 
common  in  Polynesia,  are  believed  to  be  indigenous  to 
America.  But  if  occasionally  an  isolated  crew  of  wan- 
dering Polynesians  made  the  American  coast  they  could 
have  had  practically  no  influence  upon  the  indigenous 
population,  even  if  they  settled  there,  which  is  very 
unlikely.  They  would  most  probably  have  come  un- 
provided with  women,  and  if  they  took  wives,  permanent 
or  temporary,  from  among  the  aborigines,  their  children 


PERU— SEQUENCE  OF  CULTURES     191 

would  have  grown  up  speaking  the  mothers'  language 
(for  the  influence  of  the  mother  in  this  matter  is  para- 
mount), and  practising  the  local  customs.  Another  im- 
portant point  relative  to  the  Polynesians  is  the  following. 
From  a  consideration  of  the  traditions  and  genealogies 
collected  in  various  parts  of  the  Pacific  it  is  possible  to 
trace  with  reasonable  certainty  the  colonization  of  the 
islands  from  west  to  east  and  to  estimate  the  date  at 
which  each  group  received  its  Polynesian  population. 
Now  the  Eastern  Pacific  can  hardly  have  been  colonized 
before  the  middle  of  the  seventh  century  ;  and  therefore 
if  the  Polynesians  had  landed  on  the  American  coast 
in  sufficient  numbers  to  affect  Peruvian  culture,  some 
traditions  of  their  arrival  would  surely  have  survived. 
In  any  case  the  early  culture  can  hardly  have  been 
subjected  to  their  influence.  The  event  of  a  Chinese 
crew  finding  its  way  across  the  breadth  of  the  Pacific, 
and  passing  by  the  islands  to  settle  in  South  America,  is 
almost  unthinkable,  and  in  any  case  could  never  have 
occurred  with  sufficient  frequency  to  have  left  any  im- 
pression whatever.  Egyptmaybedisregarded altogether. 
The  possibility  of  influence  emanating  from  Central  and 
North  America  is  not  so  remote;  theartof  Nascaand  the 
Chavin  monolith  suggests  that  of  the  Maya  to  a  certain 
extent,  and  there  are  points  of  resemblance  between  the 
Tiahuanaco  and  Truxillo  styles  on  the  one  hand,  and 
the  art  of  the  north-west  coast  of  North  America  on  the 
other,  a  resemblance  which  also  appears  in  some  of  the 
coast  legends.  But  these  resemblances  do  not  amount 
to  much  more  than  a  common  "  American  "  character, 
and  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge  we  are  not 
justified  in  admitting  more  than  the  possibility  of  some 
early  intercommunication.  Even  if  we  admit  this  we 
are  forced  to  allow  that  the  various  schools  of  Andean 
art,  and  the  culture  and  beliefs  of  the  eastern  half  of 
South  America,  have  developed  locally  and  on  separate 
lines ;  and  our  admission  amounts  to  no  more  than  this, 


192  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

that  the  art  and  culture  of  this  region,  starting  from  a 
common  "  American  "  basis,  have  completed  their  evo- 
lution in  South  America,  and  have  therefore  every  claim 
to  be  considered  indigenous.  To  presume  more  than 
this,  in  the  present  state  of  our  knowledge,  would  argue 
ignorance  of  the  value  of  scientific  evidence. 

[*^*  Since  this  chapter  was  written,  Dr.  A.  Hrdlicka 
has  published  a  preliminary  note  on  his  researches  at 
Truxillo  and  Pachacamac.  His  extensive  collection  of 
human  remains  (including  over  1 1  oo  skulls  from  Trux- 
illo) still  awaits  detailed  investigation,  but  he  distin- 
guishes three  types  which  he  assigns  to  three  successive 
periods.  First,  a  round-headed  population  who  made 
pottery,  simple  in  form  and  with  sombre  painted  orna- 
ment, and  who  possessed  little  metal  and  that  chiefly 
gold.  Second,  another  round-headed  people,  with  pro- 
nounced artificial  deformation  (of  the  type  shown  in  PI. 
X,  Figs.  I  and  2),  who  made  better  and  more  brightly- 
ornamented  pottery,  used  copper  freely  and  some  gold. 
Third,  a  long-headed  type,  which  appears  in  small  num- 
bersatthetimeofthe  greatest  prevalence  of  the  deformed 
type.  Until  his  researches  are  published  fully,  it  is  im- 
possible to  say  how  they  bear  upon  the  theories  put  for- 
ward in  the  above  chapter,  but  at  present  they  seem  to 
support  rather  than  to  controvert  them.] 


CHAPTER  IX— PERU  :    ARTS  AND  CRAFTS 

OF  the  various  products  of  Peruvian  craftsmanship 
the  pottery  is  the  most  important  archaeologically, 
as  may  be  inferred  from  the  last  chapter ;  it  is,  moreover, 
the  most  important  from  an  artistic  point  of  view.  By 
far  the  greater  proportion  of  the  pottery  remains  come 
from  the  coast ;  for  in  the  interior  the  atmospheric  con- 
ditions are  not  so  well  suited  to  the  preservation  of 
ceramics  for  a  long  period.  Naturally  there  was  great 
variation  in  the  quality  of  the  ware,  both  according  to 
locality  and  period,  and  according  to  the  purpose  for 
which  the  vessel  was  intended,  but,  in  the  case  of  the 
better  specimens,  the  clay  was  well-mixed  and  the  firing 
good.  Most  of  the  pottery,  red  or  black,  light  or  heavy, 
porous  or  compact,isof  the  same  kindof  clay,contaInIng 
much  volcanic  detritus.  In  the  better  specimens,  the  fine 
surface  and  the  thinness  of  the  walls  are  the  result  of 
careful  polishing.  They  are  not  heavily  fired,  for  the 
vegetable  substances  are  not  entirely  carbonized,  and  the 
firing  must  have  been  performed  in  the  open,  probably 
in  a  hole  in  the  ground.  Throughout  the  whole  of  Peru 
the  use  of  the  wheel  was  entirely  unknown,  and  the  re- 
markable regularity  and  gracefulness  of  some  of  the 
forms  In  which  the  vases  were  moulded(such  as  Pis.  XX, 
1-3, and  XXI,  6-8)  bear  witness  to  the  masterly  skill  with 
which  the  primitive  potter  handled  his  material.  Un- 
doubtedly the  early  inhabitants  of  Truxlllo  and  the 
neighbourhood  take  the  premier  place  as  workers  of  clay. 
Their  vases  are  moulded  chiefly  in  reddish  clay,  often 
covered  wholly  or  partially  with  a  white  slip  and  bur- 
nished. On  this  white  slip,  patterns  are  painted  in  red. 
o  193 


194  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

The  variety  of  designs  is  endless  ;  vases  are  found  in  the 
form  of  human  heads  or  figures  (Pis.  XXI,  6-8,  and 
XXII,  8-10)  modelled  with  such  skill  that  an  excellent 
idea  can  be  obtained  of  the  personal  appearance  of  this 
early  people,  their  dress,  ornaments,  weapons  and  musi- 
cal instruments.  Warriors  with  their  weapons  (PI.  XXII, 
10),  musicians  with  pan-pipes,  flutes  and  drums,  indi- 
viduals in  ceremonial  masks  and  dresses,  personages  of 
monstrous  appearance,  furnished  with  formidable  tusks 
(recalling  the  San  Agustin  carvings  mentioned  on  page 
39),  and  probably  intended  for  huaca,  women  carrying 
children  or  burdens,  are  all  portrayed  ;  even  the  more 
sombre  side  of  life  is  illustrated  in  the  vases  represent- 
ing maimed  and  diseased  persons  and  cripples.  The 
painted  type  (PL  XX,  1-3)  show  regular  scenes,  repre- 
senting fishing  (Fig.  9),  hunting  (Fig.  8),  combats  (Fig. 
I  o)und  ceremonial  dances  (Fig.  15).  The  animal  world 
is  well  represented  in  both  types  of  pottery ;  land-animals, 
such  as  dogs,  deer,  jaguar  and  cavies;  birds,  principally 
pelicans,  falcons,  wild-fowl  and  owls;  dwellers  in  the 
sea,  such  as  sea-lions,  fish,  crabs,  lobsters  and  shell-fish, 
are  all  to  be  found.  An  especially  pleasing  vase  of  this 
class  is  shown  in  PI.  XX,  2  ;  here  a  marsh-bird  is 
represented  as  seated  on  the  vase,  while  below  is  painted 
its  nest  and  young  in  a  reed-bed,  and  cranes  are  en- 
gaged in  catching  fish  close  by.  But  it  is  in  the  repre- 
sentation of  the  human  face  that  the  Truxillo  artist 
excelled,andthe  character  expressed  in  such  masterpieces 
as  PL  XXI,  6  and  8,  and  PL  XXII,  8  and  9,  can  hardly  be 
surpassed  in  the  plastic  art  of  any  country  or  period. 
Many  pots  show  conventional  designs,  continuous 
spirals,  step-patterns,  frets  and  meanders,  all  drawn 
with  remarkable  freedom  and  certainty.  Many  of  these 
are  evolved  from,  or  combined  with,  animal  designs,  as 
can  be  seen  in  PL  XX,  i.  A  common  feature  of  the 
potteryof  thisneighbourhood  is  a  spout  forming  a  loop- 
handle,  which  fulfilled  a  utilitarian  purpose.  In  the  hot 


PLATE   XXII 


Ihilhh  Mas 

PERU 

I,  3,  4.   Sll.VKR    VaSK-S  :    KKO.M    THE    COAST    NEAR    TrUXIT.LO 

2.  Silver  Mace-iikad:  krom  the  coast  near  Truxii.i.o 
5,  6,  7.  Vases:  from  the  huihi.ands 
8,  9,  10.  Vases:  from  the  coast  near  Truxii.i.o 

(Scale:   1-4.  1/5TH;  5-7,  1/7TH  ;  S-10,  1/6111) 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS       195 

and  dry  atmosphere  of  the  coast  along  and  narrow  neck 
was  necessary  to  prevent  evaporation  of  the  contents, 
while  the  loop  allowed  the  vessel  to  be  slung  on  a 
baldric  so  that  the  owner  could  carry  a  supply  of  drink 
with  him.    That  these  vessels  were  so  used  is  proved  by 


Fig.  22. 


-a  pottery  vase,  />  pottery  trumpet  ;  from  Truxillo  (scale  y\). 
[British  Museum.] 


the  discovery  of  vases  representing  men  with  vases  sus- 
pended in  this  manner.  A  type  of  vase  almost  peculiar 
to  this  locality  and  period  consists  of  a  circular  body  with 
projecting  handle,  somewhat  resembling  a  saucepan 
(Fig.  22,^).  The  qualification  is  necessary,  since  a  single 
example  of  this  type  has  been  found  on  the  coast  of  Ecua- 
dor, but  it  must  almost  certainly  have  been  of  Truxillo 
manufacture.    Pottery  trumpets  in  the  shape  of  bugles 


196  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

are  also  characteristic  of  this  region  (Fig.  2  2,  ^).  At  Trux- 
illo  are  found  the  finest  specimens  of  the  black  ware 
(PI.  XXI,  2-5),  which  in  later  times  became  common  far 
down  the  coast.  This  ware  is  covered  with  a  plumbago 
slip,  which  takes  a  fine  burnish.  It  seems  that  the  plum- 
bago ware  was  known  in  early  times  also,  since  some  of 
the  figure-vases  in  this  style  closely  resemble  those  in 
the  red  ware,  and  are  almost  as  well  modelled  (compare 
PI.  XXI,  5,  and  XXII,  i  o).  Most  of  them,  however,  are 
undoubtedly  later,  and  though  they  are  technically 
superior  to  the  earlier  type,  in  so  far  as  the  ware  is  of 
extreme  and  uniform  thinness,  the  soul  has  gone  out  of 
the  designs  and  they  have  become  mechanical.  They  ex- 
hibit, however,  an  almost  equal  variety  of  form,  with  the 
exception  of  course  that  they  are  not  found  with  painted 
decoration.  The  red  ware  also  persisted  in  later  times, 
but  exhibits  an  equal  degeneration.  At  all  periods  vases 
with  double  bodies  (PI.  XXI,  3)  were  found,  though 
this  type  was  not  so  common  in  the  early  age.  The 
bodies  are  connected,  and  one  is  furnished  with  a  spout, 
the  other  with  a  whistle,  so  that  the  motion  of  the  liquid 
within  produced  a  sound,  which  was  no  doubt  supposed 
to  represent  the  cry  of  the  animal  in  the  form  of  which 
the  spoutless  portion  of  the  vase  was  moulded.  The 
coast  vases  were  often  made  in  sections,  the  body  being 
composed  of  an  upper  and  lower  part  accurately  fitted 
together,  and  subsequently  furnished  with  spout  and 
handles.  At  any  rate  in  later  times  moulds  were  com- 
monly employed, a  fact  which  might  be  gathered  from  the 
frequent  occurrence  of  identical  designs,even  if  numbers 
of  the  moulds  themselves  had  not  been  discovered. 
The  joints  were  completely  concealed  by  the  slip,  and 
it  is  only  from  broken  pots  that  the  composite  nature 
of  the  vases  can  be  determined.  Next  to  the  Truxillo 
ware,  the  most  striking  specimens  of  Peruvian  ceramic 
art  are  found  at  Nasca.  These  are  distinguished  by 
an   extraordinary   variety   of  colour,  as  may  be  seen 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS       197 

from  PI.  I.  In  this  region  moulded  vases,  such  as 
PI.  I,  I,  which  represents  a  man  holding  a  sling,  are 
comparatively  rare,  and  the  painted  type  predominates, 
the  variety  with  twin  spouts  such  as  PI.  I,  2,  being 
especially  characteristic.  The  later  pottery  of  the 
province  of  Yea  derived  from  this  early  type,  is  dis- 
tinguished by  a  more  subdued  colouring,  and  is  usually 
covered  with  all-over  designs  derived  from  the  figures 
of  birds  and  fish  expressed  in  the  angular  method  pecu- 
liar to  basket-work  and  textiles  (such  as  PI.  XX, 4).  En- 
graved pottery,  some  of  it  dating  from  the  earliest  times, 
is  far  commoner  in  southern  Peru  than  on  the  northern 
coast. 

In  the  inland  parts  the  pottery  is  characterized  by  great 
restraint  both  in  colour  and  form,  especially  in  the 
earliest  times.  The  Tiahuanaco  vases  are  as  a  rule  of 
red  ware,  painted  in  red  and  white,  but  a  black  engraved 
variety  has  also  been  found.  When  the  Tiahuanaco 
style  reached  the  coast  it  deteriorated,  losing  to  a  great 
extent  its  vigorous  simplicity,  though  gaining  in  colour. 
For  instance  the  design  shown  in  Fig.  20  is  painted  on 
an  orange-red  ground  in  white,  black,  crimson,  grey 
and  buff.  The  beaker  type  of  vase,  as  shown  on  PI. 
XX,  7-9,  is  especially  characteristic  of  Tiahuanaco,  and 
the  specimens  found  in  the  highlands  are  distinguished 
by  considerable  elegance  of  form  and  good  proportions ; 
but  jars  with  single  and  double  handles  have  also  been 
found.  The  beaker  type  also  occurs  on  the  coast, 
though  all  its  elegance  has  vanished,  and  here  the  better 
examplesof  the  Tiahuanaco  art  consist  in  designs  painted 
on  vases  moulded  in  the  style  of  the  coast. 

It  is  difficult  to  write  with  freedom  on  the  subject  of 
Cuzco  pottery  for  two  reasons.  Firstly,  the  remains 
in  the  highlands  are  few,  and  much  of  the  material, 
perhaps  even  the  greater  part,  has  been  collected  on  the 
coast  and  in  other  provinces  whither  it  was  carried  by 
mitimaes  ;  and  secondly,  the  Inca  deported  many  of  the 


198  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

coast-artisans  to  Cuzco,  in  order  that  the  capital  might 
reap  the  benefit  of  their  skill  in  pottery-making  and 
metallurgy.  In  this  way  arose  no  little  confusion  in 
styles,  but  at  any  rate  certain  types  can  be  indicated  as 
characteristic  of  the  dominant  people.  The  principal 
of  these  is  the  type  shown  on  PL  XXII,  5-7,  examples 
of  which  are  found  in  every  quarter  where  Inca  influence 
penetrated,  from  Quito  in  Ecuador  to  Copiapo  in 
Chile.  In  many  of  the  provinces  the  pattern  was 
copied  by  the  local  potters,  who  further  sometimes  ap- 
plied their  own  style  of  decoration  (as  in  the  north-west 
Argentine  ;  see  Fig.  29,  c)  ;  but  in  none  of  these  cases 
were  the  products  of  provincial  artists  equal  to  those  of 
the  capital.  This  type  of  vase  seems  to  have  been  made 
in  great  numbers  and  all  sizes,  from  a  few  inches  to  over 
2  feet  6  inches  in  height.  The  ware  is  red,  sometimes 
covered  with  a  white  slip,  and  the  patterns  are  in  red 
and  black.  The  tones  are  very  subdued,  as  in  all  the 
highland  pottery.  A  small  knob  may  be  noticed  at  the 
base  of  the  neck;  for  carrying  the  larger  specimens  of 
this  kind  of  vase,  a  cord  was  passed  through  each 
handle,  and  over  the  knob,  which  prevented  it  from 
slipping  off,  and  the  vase  was  hoisted  on  the  back  of 
the  carrier,  the  cords  passing  over  his  shoulders. 
Another  type  of  pot  (also  found  in  Ecuador,  the  Argen- 
tine and  on  the  coast),  which  is  typical  of  Cuzco,  is  a 
round  cup,  often  with  a  cover,  supported  on  a  stem 
with  expanding  foot,  and  furnished  with  a  single  loop- 
handle  arranged  in  a  horizontal  plane  (Fig.  6,  c).  This 
type  is  usually  undecorated.  Dishes  again  are  regarded 
as  typical  of  Inca  influence,  and  are  sometimes  painted 
on  the  interior  with  elaborate  designs  in  the  usual  sub- 
dued  colours.  But  the  most  pleasing  examples  of  Inca 
pottery,  always  excepting  the  graceful  type  shown  on 
Pl.XXlI,  5-7,  are  certain  fragments  found  on  the  island 
of  Titicaca,  on  which  are  painted  naturalistic  representa- 
tions of  butterflies  and  other  insects.    The  above  short 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS       199 

summary,  taken  in  connection  with  the  preceding  chap- 
ter, will  perhaps  be  sufficient  to  give  a  general  idea  of 
the  pottery  of  Peru,  though  the  subject  is  by  no  means 

fm  iwiiiiinwniiiwiMim  exhausted.    Many  complex  questions  are 
p^^-    '■■'■'.''■   connected  with  it, and  it  cannot  be  treated 
loor^^^-    fully  except  in  a  special  work  containing 
a  vast  number  of  illustrations. 

The  question  of  the  textile  art  is  no 
simpler.    Weaving  was  an 
art  in  which  the  Peruvians 
excelled,  and  the  woollen 
and   cotton   cloths   which 
they    manufactured    were 
often  of  very 
fine  quality. 
Originally 
the    former 
m  a  t e rj  a 
was  charac- 
teristic     of 


Fig.  23.  —  Fragment  of  textile  ;  Truxillo  (scale  i).      [British  Museum.] 

the  highlands,  the  latter  of  the  coast,  but  the  establish- 
ment cf  the  Inca  empire  brought  about  an  interchange  of 
produce,  so  that  the  distribution  of  both  became  more  or 
less  general.  The  coast  however  furnishes  by  far  the 
greater  number  of  textile  remains,  even  of  those  in  the 
style  of  the  highlands,  owing  to  the  dryness  of  the  cli- 


200  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 


mate.  The  earliest  textiles  known  are  those  in  the  Tiahu- 
anaco  style,  which  is  as  easily  recognizable  in  tapestry  as 
in  pottery.    In  the  earliest  times  the  loom  does  not  seem 

to  have  been  known  ; 
the  warp  was  arranged 
on  a  frame  and  the  weft 
put  in  by  hand  by  means 
of  wooden  needles,  each 
wound  with  thread  of  a 
different  colour.  The 
main  outlines  of  the  de- 
sign ran  parallel  with 
the  warp  and  weft,  and 
the  design  was  built  up 
in  patches  of  colour  and 
was  not  surrounded 
with  an  outline  in  black 
as  in  the  pottery.  This 
method  of  tapestry  - 
weaving  was  followed 
later  on  the  coast,  es- 
pecially in  the  northern 
parts,  but  with  a  techni- 
cal difference.  Where 
the  dividing  line  be- 
tween two  colours  runs 
parallel  with  the  warp, 
it  is  evident  that  a  slit 
must  result  (e.g.  behind 
the  tails  of  the  birds  in 
Fig.  23).  In  the  later  tex- 
tiles these  slits  were  al- 


FiG.  24. — Detail  of  Fig.  2: 


lowed  to  occur, and  they  performed  a  definite  function  in 
adding  emphasis  to  the  design.  The  technique  of  this 
particular  fragment  is  shown  enlarged  in  Fig.  24  (in 
which,  however  for  the  sake  of  clearness,  the  number 
of  weft-threads  has  been  reduced  by  one-half),  so  that 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS      201 

the  structural  nature  of  these  slits  may  be  seen;  the  por- 
tion shown  being  the  tail  of  one  of  the  birds.  But  in 
the  tapestry  woven  in  the  Tiahuanaco  style,  no  slits 
occur,  the  weft-threads  of  two  contiguous  patches  of 
colour  being  interlaced  as  shown  in  Fig.  24,  inset.  This 
method  of  avoiding  a  slit  seems  to  have  been  character- 
istic of  the  highlands,  since  it  is  found  in  Inca  cloth  of 


JIIH    mKHH    lilt 


^/^v. 

V\y\A 

V* 

U^NiA/l 

ts 

0 

0 

i 

7) 

0 

Fig.  25. — a-e  pottery  needle-whorls  (scale  |). 
f-g  tapestry  needles. 
h-n  textile  designs.         [British  Museum.] 

a  later  date ;  but  it  appears  to  have  been  forgotten  on 
the  coast  in  subsequent  times,  since  in  cases  where  a  long 
slit  occurred,  it  was  closed  by  sewing,  or  by  overlapping 
of  the  colours,  and  not  by  interlacing  the  weft.  Long 
slits,  however,  were  avoided  as  far  as  possible  by  making 
the  main  outlines  of  the  pattern  run  diagonally,  and 
not  vertically  as  in  the  Tiahuanaco  style.  The  coastal 
tapestry  is  always  in  bright  colours, the  earliest  in  yellow, 
brown,  blue  and  red;  in  the  later  manufactures  a  more 
extensive  variety  of  tints  is  found  (as  may  be  seen  from 


202  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

Fig.  23,  where  the  colours  are  represented  by  shading), 
of  even  greater  brilliancy.  The  needles  (Fig.  2  5,/and^) 
with  which  tapestry  was  woven  were  weighted  with  small 
pottery  whorls,  ornamented  with  engraved  and  painted 
patterns  ;  some  of  these  are  among  the  most  decorative 
of  the  smaller  objects  found  in  the  coast  graves,  notably 
the  specimen  with  a  bird  design  shown  in  Fig.  25,^.  Less 
often  they  are  moulded  to  represent  a  human  figure  or 
an  animal  such  as  a  frog,  as  illustrated  in  the  same  figure. 
But  the  great  bulk  of  the  textile  manufactures  was  pro- 
duced by  true  weaving  on  a  loom.  The  loom  employed 
was  a  very  primitive  appliance;  the  warp  consisted  of  a 
long  continuous  thread,passing  backwards  and  forwards 
between  two  horizontal  rods,  which  thus  corresponded 
to  the  warp-beam  and  cloth-beam  of  the  European  hand- 
loom  ;  each  alternate  warp-thread  passed  through  one  of 
a  series  of  cotton  loops  arranged  along  a  third  rod;  so 
that,  when  this  rod  was  raised,  every  second  warp-thread 
was  lifted  sufficiently  to  allow  the  passage  of  the  shuttle 
carrying  the  weft.  The  warp-threads  connected  with 
the  loops  passed  under  a  thick  rod  inserted  in  the  warp, 
and  the  rest  of  the  warp-threads  passed  above  it;  so  that 
as  soon  as  the  rod  which  bore  the  loops  was  lowered, 
the  warp-threads  connected  with  it  fell  below  the  level 
of  the  rest,  and,  in  the  technical  language  of  weaving, 
the  "  shed  "  (or  aperture  between  the  two  series  of  warp- 
threads)  was  divided  in  the  opposite  direction,  and  the 
shuttle  was  passed  back  again.  From  certain  differences 
in  the  technique  of  cloths  of  the  periods  characterized 
respectively  by  the  Tiahuanaco  designs  and  their  deri- 
vatives on  the  one  hand,  and  by  the  diagonally  arranged 
patterns  on  the  other,  there  seems  reason  to  believe  that 
a  change  in  the  form  of  loom  took  place;  the  former 
being  manufactured  on  a  horizontal,  the  latter  on  a 
vertical  loom.  Various  methods  of  decoration  were 
employed  ;  patterns  were  woven  in  the  material,  or 
introduced  by  means  of  embroidery  after  manufac- 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS       203 

ture  ;  designs  were  painted  on  the  cloth  (PL  XXIII, 
4),  or  the  latter  was  dipped  in  dye,  certain  portions 
being  "  reserved  "  from  the  action  of  the  pigment  by 
being  tied  tightly  so  that  the  dye  could  not  pene- 
trate. Fine  specimens  of  painted  and  dyed  work  exist 
dating  from  the  Tiahuanaco  period,  and  garments  have 
been  discovered  made  up  of  a  patchwork  of  variously 
dyed  pieces,  forming  symmetrical  patterns  in  recipro- 
cal colours.  Since  the  warp  consisted  of  one  continuous 
thread  wound  round  the  primitive  cloth-  and  warp- 
beams,  the  ends  appeared  as  a  series  of  loops.  To  join 
two  patches  together  a  thread  was  passed  through  the 
end-loops  of  adjoining  pieces,  uniting  them  so  closely 
that  they  appear  to  have  been  woven  in  a  single  piece. 
In  the  later  periods,  stripes  were  often  introduced  into 
the  fabric  by  the  insertion  of  warp-threads  of  different 
colours,  and  this  method  of  ornamentation  is  especially 
frequent  in  Inca  textiles.  Another  late  development 
was  the  employment  of  a  double  warp  and  woof,  in  two 
colours,  by  means  of  which  a  double-faced  cloth  was 
woven,  the  pattern  appearing  in  reciprocal  colours  on 
each  side  of  the  fabric  (PI.  XXIII,  3).  A  peculiar  variety 
of  three-ply  weaving,  which  seems  practically  to  be  con- 
fined to  America,  was  also  practised.  In  many  cases  pat- 
terns were  applied  to  plain  cloth  by  simple  embroidery, 
for  which,  according  to  Garcilasso,  thorns  were  used  as 
needles. 

As  regards  designs,  considerable  variation  occurred 
throughout  the  long  period  during  which  weaving  and 
tapestry  were  practised.  The  finer  Tiahuanaco  patterns 
are  conceived  on  a  bold  scale,  and  the  details  appear  as 
patches  of  colour  unemphasized  by  outline  except  in 
the  case  of  the  painted  figures.  Later,  an  outline  became 
a  regular  feature  (PI.  XXIII,  i),  and  a  greater  variety 
of  colours  was  introduced.  At  the  same  time  the  figures 
became  curtailed,  a  tendency  towards  symmetrical  ar- 
rangement showed  itself;  with  the  result  that  all-over 


204  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

patterns  of  a  geometrical  nature  were  gradually  evolved. 
The  modification  of  naturalistic  designs  into  simple 
geometrical  ornament  may  be  seen  from  the  few  examples 
shown  in  Fig.  25,  and  is  a  frequent  feature  in  the  history 
of  decorative  art,  especially  in  periods  of  decadence. 
The  heads  of  birds  are  interlocked  and  repeated  (Fig. 
25,  k^  w,  and  ri)  until  the  eye  loses  the  significance  of  the 
detail  in  the  geometrical  pattern  to  which  its  symmetri- 
cal repetition  gives  rise  ;  and  the  figures  of  fish  (Fig.  2  5, 
h  and  /)  and  heads  of  beasts  (Fig.  25,  i)  suffer  simi- 
lar degradation.  The  process  was  no  doubt  hastened 
by  the  application  to  cloth  of  patterns  taken  from 
basket-work.  In  basket-work  the  designs,  even 
though  they  may  be  taken  from  the  natural  world,  are 
obliged,  for  technical  reasons,  to  assume  a  geometrical 
form.  The  kinship  of  later  Peruvian  textile  ornament 
with  basket-work  is  especially  seen  in  southern  Peru, — 
such  designs  as  PI.  XXIII,  2,  being  particularly  charac- 
teristic of  Yea.  Indeed  these  basket-work  patterns  in- 
vaded even  the  pottery,  the  painted  decoration  of  which 
became  modified  according  to  the  conventions  of  tex- 
tile art. 

Delicategauzes(Pl.XXIII,5)were  also  manufactured 
during  the  later  period  on  the  coast,  consisting  of  a  fine 
net  background  on  which  were  embroidered  designs 
characteristic  of  the  period  ;  and  reticules  of  ornamental 
network,  often  in  colours,  are  found  in  the  graves. 
The  textiles  of  the  Inca,  like  their  pottery,  were  distin- 
guished by  the  sobriety  of  their  colours, black  and  brown 
predominating,  though  subdued  yellows,  reds  and  blues 
are  also  found.  Stripes  and  small  all-over  patterns  are 
the  most  common,  and  the  garments  are  remarkable 
for  the  excellence  of  their  technique  rather  than  for  the 
brilliance  of  their  hues.  Embroidery  and  the  manu- 
facture of  double-faced  cloth  were  also  practised  by  the 
inlanders,  and  it  is  possible  that  the  latter  may  have  been 
introduced  on  the  coast  from  the  highlands.    Cloth  was 


PLATE   XXII I 


r:5I^>j 


I'KKi; 

1,   2.    TaI'ESTKV,    COASI     SlYI.Ii 

3.  Cl.OTH,     INCA    STVl.K 

4.  Painted  ci.orii,  coast  si\i,i-: 

5.  Gauze,  coasi'  styi.e 
(Scale:    1-4,  l/Siil;  5.  1/4111) 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS      205 

also  ornamented  with  brilliantly  coloured  feathers  form- 
ing patterns,  and  many  beautiful  examples  of  this  work, 
some  with  designs  in  the  Tiahuanaco  style,  have  been 
preserved.  A  specimen  of  this  kind  of  work  is  seen  in 
the  head-dress  figured  on  PI.  IX,  3. 

The  preparation  from  cotton  and  wool  of  the  thread  for 
weaving  was  one  of  the  principal  occupations  of  women. 
Garcilasso  tells  how  "  even  in  going  from  the  villages 
to  the  city,  or  in  passing  from  one  house  to  another  on 
necessary  business,  they  took  with  them  the  means  both 
of  spinning  and  twisting.  On  the  road  they  went  along 
twisting  what  they  had  already  spun,  as  being  more  easy ; 
and  on  their  visits  they  took  with  them  the  distaff  and 
span  while  they  conversed.  Those  who  went  along  the 
roads  twisting  or  spinning  belonged  to  the  lower  classes. 
The  Pallas  [princesses]  of  the  royal  blood,  when  they 
paid  visits,  caused  their  servants  to  carry  their  distaffs  ; 
but  both  visitors  and  those  who  were  visited  were  thus 
occupied  while  they  talked,  so  as  not  to  be  idle.  .  .  . 
If  any  woman  who  was  not  a  Palla,  even  though  she 
might  be  the  wife  of  a  Cura9a  or  a  lord  of  vassals,  went 
to  pay  a  visit  to  a  Palla  of  the  blood  royal,  she  did  not 
bring  any  work  of  her  own  with  her.  But  after  the 
first  few  words  of  the  visit,  or  rather  adoration,  for  such 
it  was,  she  begged  to  be  given  some  work,  saying  that 
she  had  not  come  on  a  visit,  but  to  serve  as  an  inferior 
to  a  superior.  The  Palla,  as  a  great  favour,  complied 
with  this  request,  and  gave  some  of  the  work  that  either 
she  or  one  of  her  daughters  was  doing;  for  she  did  not 
degrade  her  to  the  level  of  the  servant-girls  by  giving 
her  some  of  their  work.  This  favour  was  all  that  the 
visitor  could  wish  for,  seeing  that  the  Palla  thus  made 
her  in  some  sort  on  an  equality  with  herself  and  her 
daughter."  ^ 

In  wood-carving,  as  might  be  expected,  the  Peruvians 

^  From  the  translation  by  Sir  Clements  Markham,  published  by  the 
Hakluyt  Society.  f 


2o6  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

showed  much  skill,  but  remains  of  this  perishable  nature 
are  few,  and  consist  mainly  of  small  objects,  such  as 
caskets,  ear-ornaments,  and  the  like.  The  most  inter- 
esting examples  of  this  art  are  certain  wood-carvings 
found  buried  deep  in  the  guano  on  some  of  the  islands 
off  the  coast.  A  few  of  these  are  shown  in  PI.  VIII,  4-6, 
and  their  style  bears  a  close  relation  to  the  older  artof  the 
maritime  region.  Figs.  4  and  6  resemble  sceptres,  and 
present  a  personage  seated  on  a  throne  (in  one  case  under 
a  canopy),  holding,  apparently,  a  vase  and  a  club,  and 
surrounded  by  a  number  of  animals.  The  figures  bear 
a  remote  resemblance  to  the  stone  figures  discovered  at 
Tiahuanaco,  who  also  hold  cups,  and  the  birds  and 
beasts  may  be  condors  and  pumas,  the  inevitable  attend- 
ants of  the  creator-god.  The  central  figure  is  carved 
at  the  top  of  a  post,  and  represents  a  seated  man  with 
a  cord  round  his  neck.  Many  similar  figures  are  shown 
with  the  hands  bound  behind  them,  a  feature  which  has 
given  rise  to  the  supposition  that  the  islands  may  have 
been  used  as  penal  settlements  in  early  times.  That 
the  carvings  are  of  great  age  is  proved  by  the  depth  of 
the  guano  deposits  under  which  they  were  found  and 
to  which  they  owe  their  preservation.  Inlaying  was 
widely  practised,  wood  with  shell,  bone  with  turquoise, 
stone  with  stone  of  another  colour,  and  shell  with  shell 
and  turquoise.  Some  of  the  inlaid  beads  of  necklaces 
show  a  very  pleasing  contrast  of  colours.  The  white 
shell  frogs  in  Fig.  1 1,  <^,  have  eyes  of  red  shell,  while  the 
central  bead  is  of  mother-of-pearl  inlaid  with  turquoise. 
The  small  llama  figure  (Fig.  11,  a)  is  cut  from  a  hard 
stone,  of  a  faint  mauve  colour,  the  eyes  are  red,  and  the 
muzzle  and  feet  were  originally  encircled  by  gold  bands. 
Wooden  carvings  were  also  inlaid  with  a  kind  of  coloured 
mastic, but  examples  of  this  art  seem  to  be  peculiar  to  the 
highlands,  and  to  belong  to  thelatelnca  empire.  Incrusta- 
tion of  shell-mosaic,  set  in  a  matrix  of  gum,  frequently 
occurs  on  wooden  ear-plugs,  such  as  Fig.  11,  g;  in  this 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS 


207 


specimen  the  double  bird  in  the  centre  is  of  mother-of- 
pearl, with  turquoise  eyes,  while  the  surrounding  mosaic 
ground  is  of  scarlet  and  dark  crimson  shell.  The  occur- 
rence of  turquoise,  proved  by  the  analysis  of  certain  of 
the  inlaid  fragments,  is  in- 
teresting, since  the  nearest 
deposits  of  this  material 
which  are  known  to  exist 
are  those  of  Santa  Fe  in 
New  Mexico.  This  fact 
does  not  necessarily  prove 
connection,  since  it  is  pos- 
sible that  turquoise  de- 
posits may  yet  be  dis- 
covered in  South  America. 
Inlaid  work  has  a  wide 
range  in  America,  extend- 
ing from  Arizona  through 
Mexico  and  the  Antilles  to 
the  north-west  Argentine. 
As  regards  carving  in 
stone,  the  skill  of  the  Peru- 
vians in  handling  large 
masses  of  sandstone,  ande- 
site  and  diorite  has  been 
remarked  in  a  previous 
chapter.  Of  smaller  objects 
the  figures  of  llamas  (Figs. 
II,  a,  and  27,  b)  show  con- 
siderable skill  ;  while  the 
stone  cup  from  Tiahuanaco 
(Fig.  26)  and  the  mortar  carved  in  the  Cuzco  style 
(PI.  XXI,  i),  and  ornamented  with  snakes  in  relief,  are 
veritable  masterpieces.  The  style  of  building  in  poly- 
gonal blocks,  which  atleast  survived  into  thelnca  period, 
necessitated  enormous  labour  in  so  far  as  each  stone  had 
to  be  shaped  separately  to  fit  its  neighbours.    For  the 


Fig. 


26. — Stone  cup  (fragment)  from 
Tiahuanaco  (scale  J). 

[ISritish  Museum,] 


2o8  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

purpose  of  stone-dressing,  copper,  or  at  best  an  acci- 
dental bronze,  was  the  only  metal  available,  and  it  is 
probable  that  stone  tools  were  employed,  since  stone  can 
be  worked  with  stone  more  easily  than  with  such  metal 
as  was  at  the  disposal  of  the  Peruvians.  In  any  case  it  is 
difficult  to  realize  the  difficulties  which  must  have  been 
mastered  in  the  preparation  of  such  triumphs  of  the 
mason's  art  as  are  seen  at  Tiahuanaco. 

Of  metals,  gold  and  silver  were  used  for  ornament  and 
for  the  manufacture  of  the  utensils  used  by  the  Inca  and 
the  nobility,  and  formed  an  important  part  of  the  offer- 
ings presented  to  the  Sun.  Gold  was  collected  chiefly 
from  the  alluvial  deposits  of  certain  rivers,  but  silver 
could  only  be  obtained  by  regular  mining.  The  labour 
was  hard,  and  each  miner  worked  for  only  a  few  months 
in  the  year,  his  services  being  regarded  as  his  tribute 
to  the  state.  Miners  were  exempt  from  the  necessity 
of  cultivation,  and  their  fields  were  tilled  for  them.  We 
are  also  told  that  they  were  required  to  be  married,  in 
order  that  they  might  have  someone  to  prepare  their 
food.  Ore  was  smelted  in  small  pottery  furnaces,  in  the 
base  of  which  were  holes  to  admit  the  copper  tubes 
serving  as  bellows.  Through  these  tubes,  the  inner  end 
of  which  was  furnished  with  a  small  perforation,  the 
metallurgist  blew  to  fan  the  flames.  Some  of  the  silver 
ore  required  a  greater  heat  than  could  be  obtained  by 
this  primitive  method,  and  other  means  were  called  into 
requisition.  Pottery  furnaces,  called  huaira^  tubular  in 
shape,  about  a  yard  wide  at  the  base,  but  expanding  in 
diameter  towards  the  top,  were  set  up  on  the  loftier 
slopes  of  the  hills,  where  they  caught  the  evening  breeze, 
which  blows  with  great  force  and  regularity.  Holes 
were  pierced  to  admit  the  draught,  and  in  front  of  each 
hole  was  a  small  shelf,  on  which  a  fire  was  lit  in  order 
to  warm  the  air  before  it  entered  the  furnace.  The  ore 
and  fuel  were  placed  inside,  and  the  molten  metal  ran 
out  into  a  clay  receptacle  at  the  base.    These  huaira  were 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS      209 

used  at  the  mines  of  Potosi  well  on  into  Spanish  times, 
and  Acosta  writes  :  "There  were  in  old  time  upon  the 
sides  and  tops  of  Potozi^  above  five  thousand  Guayras, 
which  are  small  furnaces  where  they  melt  their  metall, 
the  which  were  placed  like  lights  (a  pleasant  sight  to 
behold  by  night)  casting  a  light  afarre  off  like  a  flame 
of  fire.  But  at  this  day  there  are  not  above  two  thousand, 
for  that  (as  I  have  said)  they  use  little  melting,  but  re- 
fine it  by  quicksilver,  the  which  is  the  greatest  profit." 
Quicksilver  was  familiar  to  the  Inca,  but  its  properties 
were  unknown,  and  lead  was  sometimes  used  as  a  flux. 
Though  the  methods  of  smelting  were  primitive, 
there  is  no  doubt  of  the  skill  of  the  smiths  ;  the  ordinary 
tools  were  an  anvil  of  a  particularly  hard  variety  of  stone, 
and  copper  cubes  with  rounded  corners,  of  different 
sizes,  which  served  as  hammers.  Gold  and  silver  were 
cast,  soldered,  hammered  and  inlaid,  and  the  finer  ex- 
amples of  the  goldsmith's  art  excited  the  wondering 
admiration  of  the  conquerors.  The  Inca  even  possessed 
gardens  in  which  the  trees  and  plants  were  imitated  all 
"  in  gold  and  silver,  with  their  leaves,  flowers  and  fruit ; 
some  just  beginning  to  sprout,others  half-grown,  others 
having  reached  maturity.  They  made  fields  of  maize 
with  their  leaves,  heads,  canes,  roots  and  flowers,  all  ex- 
actly imitated.  The  beard  of  the  maize-head  was  of 
gold,  and  all  the  rest  of  silver,  the  parts  being  soldered 
together.  They  did  the  same  with  other  plants,  making 
the  flower,  or  any  part  that  became  yellow,  of  gold,  and 
the  rest  of  silver."  As  remarked  above,  the  vessels  and 
furniture  of  a  ruler  were  never  used  by  his  successors, 
and  the  quantity  of  treasure  found  by  the  Spanish  was 
enormous.  Some  idea  of  it  can  be  gathered  from  the  fact 
that  Atahualpa  within  a  few  days  was  able  to  collect  bul- 
lion to  the  value  of  three-and-a-half  millions  sterling  as 
his  ransom,  and  this  consisted  of  worked  gold.  Unfor- 
tunately nearly  all  the  treasure  discovered  in  the  high- 
lands found  its  way  to  the  melting-pot,  and  the  hopes  of 


2IO  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

archaeology  now  centre  on  the  traditions  of  the  treasures 
which  were  hidden  by  the  Indians  when  the  conquerors 
threw  off  the  mask.  Most  of  the  surviving  remains  in 
the  precious  metals  have  come  from  the  deserted  ceme- 
teries on  the  coast ;  but  even  these  are  the  less  intrinsic- 
ally valuable,  consisting  of  thin  silver  cups,  often  in  the 
form  of  human  heads  (PI.  XXII,  i,  3  and  4),  which, 
though  of  low  artistic  standard,  display  great  technical 
skill,  in  so  far  as  they  appear  to  have  been  beaten  out  of 
a  single  sheet.  The  puma-head  figured  on  the  same  plate 
is  cast  solid  and  appears  to  have  formed  the  head  of  a 
sceptre.  In  beating  gold  the  Peruvians  excelled,  and 
Wiener  mentions  certain  golden  butterflies  which  he 
saw  in  the  possession  of  a  Spaniard,  the  wings  of  which 
were  only  one-tenth  of  a  millimeter  thick.  Even  these 
delicate  objects,  the  intrinsic  value  of  which  was  very 
small,  were  melted  down  and  sold  as  bullion  !  Gold  was 
worked  by  the  old  inhabitants  of  Tiahuanaco,  and  a 
beautiful  embossed  plate  is  figured  by  Baessler  in  Ancient 
Peruvian  Art^  PL  145. 

But  the  implements  of  everyday  use  were  made  of 
copper,  and  in  this  copper  is  usually  found  a  percentage 
of  tin.  The  percentage  is  always  low  and  variable;  thus 
Mortillet'  gives  the  percentage  of  tin  in  copper  imple- 
ments, including  two  T-shaped  cramps  from  Tiahuanaco 
used  in  stone-building,  as  varying  between  5*83%  and 
7'70%.  Near  Potosi  the  variation  is  greater,  from  2'io% 
to  10*72%  ;  while  in  the  north-west  Argentine  it  is 
greatest  of  all,  from  1-57%  to  16*53%.  It  seems  almost 
certain  that  the  presence  of  tin  is  accidental,  since  it  is 
found  in  greatest  quantities  in  those  implements  which 
require  it  least.  Of  copper  were  made  the  character- 
istically shaped  knives  of  Inca  times,  such  as  Fig  27,  c, 
as  well  as  spade-blades,  spiked  club-heads  (in  the  form 
of  Fig.  5,  />),  of  which  a  variety  especially  characteristic 

^  Congres  Prehistorique  de  France,  1905,  Le  Bronz.e  dans P Amenque 
du  Slid. 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS      211 

of  the  Inca  culture  is  shown  in  Fig.  27,^,  pins  for  dresses 
(Fig.  II,  c-f)^  tweezers  for  pulling  out  hair  on  the  face 
(Fig.  11,/;  and  z),  chisels,  and  a  whole  host  of  other  imple- 
ments and  ornaments,  including  the  crests  worn  by 
warriors  on  the  coast,  as  exemplified  in  the  Truxillo 


Fig,  27. — a  copper  mace-head. 
b  stone  llama. 
c  copper  knife. 
d  stone  maize-head. 
e  copper  bolas-weight. 
All  from  the  highlands  (scale  |). 

[British  Museum.] 

vase  shown  in  Pis.  XXI,  5,  and  XXII,  10.  The  clubs 
used  on  the  coast  seem  to  have  been  furnished  with  a 
star  or  ring  of  metal  or  stone,  as  shown  in  PI.  XXI,  5; 
in  paintings  they  have  exactly  the  form  of  the  roof- 
ornaments  in  Fig.  13.  Stone  mace-heads,  with  flanges 
or  points,  have  also  been  found  in  the  highlands. 
Shields  were  of  wood,  both  circular  and  square  (e.g. 
PI.  XXI,  5,  and  XXII,  10),  and  darts  and  spear- 
throwers  of  the  type  shown  in  Fig.  8  were  used  through- 


212  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

out  the  coast,  and  in  all  probability  in  the  highlands 
also.  The  bolas,  as  described  on  p.  246,  was  used  in 
southern  Peru  and  Bolivia,  and  the  weights  were  either 
of  stone  or  of  metal,  as  shown  in  Fig.  27,^.  Slings  were 
common  throughout  (e.g.  PI.  I,  i),  and  the  blow-gun 
also  occurred,  though  the  only  evidence  for  its  presence 
is  a  painted  textile  from  Pachacamac.  This  weapon  is 
of  course  common  among  the  savages  of  the  Amazonian 
forests.  The  knives  used  in  fighting  by  the  early  in- 
habitants of  Truxillo  seem  to  have  resembled  in  pattern 
the  so-called  axe-heads  of  Cuenca,  as  may  be  seen  from 
Figs.  5,  ky  and  10.  It  is  possible  that  the  Cuenca  speci- 
mens were  also  used  in  the  hand,  and  that  the  hole  at 
the  butt  may  have  served  for  the  attachment  of  a  cord 
to  wrap  round  the  wrist. 

It  seems  perhaps  a  contradiction  to  speak  of  the  litera- 
ture of  a  people  who  had  no  writing,  but  the  Inca 
possessed  at  least  the  germs  of  a  literature  in  the  com- 
memorative songs  sung  at  the  funeral  ceremonies  of 
rulers  and  great  men,  in  their  love-songs,  and  in  their 
hymns  to  the  Creator  and  the  Sun.  More  than  this  they 
seem  to  have  recited  dramatic  poems  which  amounted 
to  plays.  Salcamayhua  mentions  these,  and  states  that 
they  were  of  four  kinds,  including  farce  and  tragedy. 
One  has  come  down  to  us,  and  is  strangely  reminiscent 
of  a  modern  melodrama.  At  one  time  it  was  thought 
to  be  of  post-Spanish  origin,  but  Sir  Clements  Mark- 
ham  has  shown  from  internal  evidence  that  the  bulk  of 
the  work  at  any  rate  dates  from  an  earlier  epoch,  though 
it  may  have  been  modified  in  form  after  the  conquest. 
It  is  called  Ollantay  after  the  hero,  a  noted  warrior,  who, 
alas,  is  not  of  Inca  blood,  and  may  not  therefore  marry 
the  heroine,  a  daughter  of  the  ruler,  the  Inca  Pachacuti. 
The  part  of  the  villain  is  played  by  the  Villac  Umu,  and 
that  of  the  "  comic  relief,"  by  Ollantay's  servant.  After 
many  troubles,  including  the  imprisonment  of  the  hero- 
ine, and  the  rebellion  and  capture,  by  a  ruse,  of  the  hero, 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS      213 

the  lovers  are  united  by  Tupac  Yupanqui,  who  has  mean- 
while succeeded  to  the  throne  on  the  death  of  his  father. 
This  drama  has  been  translated  into  English  by  Sir 
Clements  Markham,  and  includes  many  really  poetical 
passages.     It  was  originally  written  in  Quichua. 

TheQuichuadialectwas  theofficial  language  through- 
out Peru, from  Quito  toTucuman  andChile.  Under  the 
Inca  regime  it  was  rendered  obligatory  for  every  indi- 
vidual in  the  empire  to  speak  this  tongue,  and  the  task  of 
government  was  thereby  considerably  lightened.  Origi- 
nally it  had  been  the  dialect  of  the  Quichua  province  and 
the  Cuzco  valley,  and  since  the  other  dialects  in  Peru 
appear  to  have  been  akin,  the  subject  peoples  can  have 
had  little  difficulty  in  acquiring  it.  The  Inca  nobility, 
we  are  told,  spoke  among  themselves  a  special  dialect, 
which  no  one  else  was  allowed  to  learn.  This  state- 
ment is  supported  by  Garcilasso  himself,  who,  as  the 
son  of  a  princess  of  the  royal  blood,  must  have  known. 
He  further  remarks  that  at  the  time  he  wrote  his  history 
it  had  become  practically  obsolete.  It  is  possible  that 
this  language  was  the  original  tongue  of  the  immigrant 
conquerors  from  the  south. 

As  regards  science,  the  Inca,  as  true  sons  of  the  Sun, 
had  made  some  progress  in  astronomy.  Montesinos, 
in  dealing  with  the  early  rulers,  gives  various  particulars 
as  to  reforms  in  the  calendar.  Thus,  according  to  him, 
the  thirty-first  ruler  changed  the  beginning  of  the  year 
to  the  winter  solstice  ;  the  thirty-fourth  abolished  the 
old  system  of  reckoning  by  lunar  months,  and  estab- 
lished twelve  months  of  thirty  days,  with  a  period  of 
five  extra  days  at  the  end  of  the  year  ;  while  the  fifty- 
first  discovered  the  necessity  of  intercalating  a  day  every 
four  years.  At  any  rate  the  Inca  calendar  of  later  times 
was  arranged  on  this  system.  Probably  the  original 
lunar  year  had  been  corrected  by  observation  of  the 
solstices  and  equinoxes.  For  the  observation  of  the 
former,  eight  pillars  arranged  in  two  rows  were  set  up 


2  14  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

on  each  side  of  Cuzco,  to  the  east  and  to  the  west,  and 
the  relative  position  of  the  sun  at  rising  and  setting 
was  carefully  marked  ;  these  pillars  were  standing  when 
Garcilasso  left  Peru  in  1 560.  For  the  equinox,  a  sculp- 
tured stone  pillar  (or  pillars)  was  set  up  in  the  space  in 
front  of  the  Sun-temple,  and  a  line  was  drawn  from  east 
to  west.  When  the  shadow  of  the  pillar  fell  along  the 
line  from  sunrise  to  sunset,  it  was  known  that  the  equi- 
nox had  arrived,  and  a  festival  followed.  Various  shrines 
called  Intihuatanay  for  the  observation  of  the  equinox, 
existed  in  Peru,  according  to  Garcilasso,  and  the  Inca 
had  observed  that  the  nearer  they  were  to  Quito,  the 
truer  was  the  line  traced  by  the  shadow  of  the  pillar, 
and  Quito  was  regarded  as  a  holy  place  in  consequence. 
Certain  reputed  Intihuatana  still  exist,  the  most  notable 
being  at  Pisac  (PI.  XVII,  2).  Here  the  surface  of  an  out- 
cropping rock  has  been  levelled,  and  a  short  pillar  left 
projecting  in  the  centre,  while  round  the  rock  is  built  a 
wall  of  typical  Inca  masonry  in  which  is  a  doorway. 
(The  pillar  can  be  seen  in  the  illustration  a  little  to 
the  right  of  the  centre.)  Short  pillars,  cut  from  the 
living  rock  surrounded  by  an  artificially  levelled  area, 
also  occur  at  other  places,  among  them  the  sacred 
rock  at  Titicaca  and  at  Ollantaitambo,  and  all  of  these 
have  been  identified  with  Intihuatana.  Quite  recently 
Uhle  has  attempted  to  prove  that  these  pillars  are  in 
reality  altars  to  the  sun.  His  arguments  are  based 
on  several  grounds,  that  the  pillars  are  too  short  for 
the  purpose,  that  in  many  localities  more  than  one 
occur  close  together,  that  the  level  area  which  sur- 
rounds them  is  sometimes  partly  overshadowed  by  a 
neighbouring  rock.  But  tradition  is  too  strong  to  be 
lightly  set  aside  ;  the  pillars  may  merely  have  marked 
the  site  where  the  temporary  gnomon  was  set  up  when 
the  stated  season  approached,  for  Garcilasso  implies  that 
this  was  done  at  Cuzco,  and  its  shadow  watched  until 
it  coincided  with  certain  marks.     A  longer  gnomon 


PERU— ARTS  AND  CRAFTS      215 

would  overtop  the  rocks,  where  such  exist,  that  abut 
upon  the  area  around  it ;  and  one  of  the  short  pillars 
is  furnished  with  a  shallow  depression,  possibly  for  the 
reception  of  some  such  appliance.  While  as  to  the  fact 
that  more  than  one  occur  at  certain  localities,  it  must 
be  remembered  that  Garcilasso  uses  the  word  in  the 
plural  in  his  account  of  the  ceremony  at  Cuzco.  Eclipses 
naturally  attracted  much  attention,  and,  in  the  case  of 
the  sun,  were  supposed  to  portend  disaster.  An  eclipse 
of  the  moon  was  regarded  with  hardly  less  horror,  since 
itwas  believed  that  the  satellite  was  dying  and  would  fall 
from  the  sky,  bringing  about  the  end  of  the  world.  Like 
many  other  peoples  the  Peruvians  tried  to  avert  the  evil 
by  making  a  tremendous  noise  with  all  sorts  of  instru- 
ments, and  they  also  tied  up  the  dogs  and  beat  them, 
hoping  that  the  Moon,  which  was  supposed  to  be  parti- 
cularly fond  of  dogs,  would  be  moved  at  their  howls 
and  throw  off  her  sickness. 

The  Inca  were  also  acquainted  with  surveying  to  the 
extent  that  they  made  relief-maps  of  the  provinces  in 
clay,  as  an  aid  to  administration.  Sarmiento  states  that 
these  maps  were  first  made  under  Pachacuti ;  and  Garci- 
lasso saw  a  similar  plan,  made  to  scale,  of  Cuzco,  on 
which  every  house  and  street  could  be  distinguished. 
It  is  obvious  that  they  had  made  some  progress  in 
mathematics,  since  they  could  hardly  otherwise  have  ad- 
ministered the  empire,  or  attained  such  skill  in  archi- 
tecture. And  the  presence  of  balances  with  finely  carved 
beams  of  bone  and  pans  of  wood  or  net  (Fig.  11,^), 
proves  that  some  system  of  weights  must  have  existed. 
Various  professors,  termed  Amauta,  presided  over  the 
different  arts  and  sciences,  and  gave  instruction  to  such 
as  were  qualified  by  permission  to  receive  it ;  but,  as 
has  been  mentioned  in  a  previous  chapter,  all  know- 
ledge, except  of  handicrafts,  was  reserved  for  the  ruling 
class,  and  the  lower  orders  were  excluded  from  any  sort 
of  higher  education. 


CHAPTER  X— THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES 
OF  THE  PERUVIAN  EMPIRE 

THE  area  now  to  be  discussed  stands  in  continuous 
relation  to  Peru,  and  traces  of  Inca  influence  are 
found  throughout;  but  here  that  influence  had  not 
gained  so  strong  a  hold  at  the  time  ot  the  Spanish  con- 
quest as  in  the  region  immediately  to  the  north,  and 
the  natives  had  preserved  much  of  their  original  culture. 
The  reason  for  this  is  geographical.  Beyond  Arica  lies 
the  waterless  waste  of  Tarapaca,  and,  south  of  the  Bolivian 
frontier,  the  barren  and  desolate  tablelands  of  the  Puna 
de  Atacama  and  the  Puna  de  Jujuy  formed  barriers 
between  the  peoples  of  what  is  now  Chile  and  the  north- 
west Argentine  on  the  one  hand  and  Peru  and  Bolivia  on 
the  other.  The  main  physical  features  of  this  district  are 
exactly  similar  to  those  of  Peru  ;  the  twin  chains  of  the 
Andes  continue  unbroken,  and  are  bounded  on  the  west 
by  a  narrow  strip  of  coast  which  is  quite  barren  except 
in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  rivers  ;  between  the  two 
Cordilleras  is  the  same  succession  of  lofty  plateau-land 
and  valleys.  Speaking  archaeologically,  the  area  falls 
into  three  main  regions,  the  coast,  the  highland  deserts, 
and  the  valleys  south  and  east  of  the  latter,  but  there 
had  been  considerable  intercommunication,  and  all  had 
fallen  under  the  influence  of  the  Inca.  In  terms  of 
modern  geography,  therefore,  this  area  consists  of  north- 
ern Chile  as  far  as  the  river  Maule,  the  southern  bound- 
ary of  the  Inca  empire,  and  the  Argentine  provinces 
of  Jujuy,  Los  Andes,  Salta,  Catamarca,  Tucuman,  La 
Rioja  and  Cordoba  (except  the  low-lying  plains). 
The  chief  physical  feature  of  the  country  is  the  scarcity 

216 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES     217 

of  water,  especially  on  the  coast,  but  also  throughout 
large  tracts  of  the  interior  ;  and  certain  facts  seem  to 
point  to  the  conclusion  that  the  supply  has  been  dimin- 
ishing for  centuries.  At  one  time  the  desert  of  Tarapaca 
must  have  been  covered  with  forest,  since  the  bones  of 
ant-eaters  are  discovered  in  quantities  in  the  ravines, 
and  the  more  extensive  desert  of  Atacama  to  the  south 
must  have  been  fairly  well  populated,  to  judge  from  the 
innumerable  graves  which  are  found  everywhere  along 
the  coast.  Other  changes  have  taken  place  in  more 
recent  times,  such  as  the  gradual  disappearance  ot  the 
llama  from  the  highlands.  At  the  present  time  this 
animal  is  hardly  to  be  found  except  in  the  Puna  de 
Atacama  and  the  highest  valleys  around  Tinogasta,  but 
the  remains  in  graves  prove  that  it  ranged  formerly  as 
far  south  as  Cordoba. 

It  has  been  said  above  that  this  region  falls,  archaso- 
logically,  into  three  districts,  of  which  one,  and  the  most 
important,  consists  of  the  Argentine  portion  exclusive 
of  the  Punas  of  Atacama  and  Jujuy.  Here  are  found 
the  remains  of  a  culture  which  in  general  is  known  as 
Calchaqui  from  the  fact  that  the  tribe  of  this  name  sprang 
into  prominence  owing  to  their  determined  resistance  to 
the  Spaniards.^  Another  and  lower  culture  is  found  in 
the  highland  deserts,  and  this  may  be  connected  with 
one  class  of  remains  found  on  the  coast.  On  the  coast 
are  traces  of  considerable  admixture.  Undoubtedly  the 
whole  fringe  was  in  very  early  times  occupied  by  an  ex- 
tremely primitive  people,  who  were  displaced  later  by 
immigrants  slightly  more  advanced  in  culture,  possibly 
from  the  inland  desert  region  already  mentioned.  But 
beyond  Copiapo  an  entirely  different  stock  was  found  at 
the  conquest,  a  people  of  Araucanian  affinities,  who  had, 
however,  been  much  modified  by  contact  with  the  Peru- 

^  Some  have  thought  that  the  true  significance  of  this  term  is  too  local 
to  warrant  its  application  to  the  whole  area,  and  the  name  "  Diaguite  " 
has  recently  been  suggested. 


21 8  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

vians.  As  the  earliest  remains  of  the  coast  appear  to  be 
also  the  earliest  of  the  whole  area,  it  will  be  well  to  con- 
sider the  complicated  ethnology  of  this  district  before 
proceeding  to  the  more  homogeneous  culture  of  the 
interior. 

Along  the  whole  seaboard,  and  even  inland  to  a  dis- 
tance of  250  feet  above  the  sea-level,  are  found  mounds 
ofshells  containing  the  bones  offish,  birds  and  mammals, 
pottery  of  varied  character,  and  implements  of  bone, 
stone  and  copper.  But  all  these  mounds  cannot  be  re- 
ferred to  the  same  people,  since  the  burials  in  them  and 
in  their  neighbourhood  reveal  three  types  of  man.  The 
earliest  of  these  was  the  long-headed  type,  who  buried 
his  dead  in  an  extended  position,  sometimes  one  above 
the  other,  the  men  apart  from  the  women.  This  people 
made  pottery  of  a  very  rude  description,  but  were 
apparently  unacquainted  with  the  use  of  metal,  and, 
possibly,  even  of  the  bow.  They  were  followed  by  a 
round-headed  folk,  who  buried  their  dead  in  a  squatting 
position,  like  the  Peruvians,  and  whose  culture  stood 
altogether  on  a  higher  plane.  They  worked  stone  with 
some  facility  (flutes,  mortars  and  large  quantities  of 
finely-flaked  arrow-heads  bear  witness  to  the  fact),  made 
fish-hooks,  harpoon-heads,  spoons  and  needles  of  bone, 
manufactured  good  pottery  and  were  acquainted  with 
weaving  and  the  use  of  copper.  The  long-heads  appear 
to  have  retired  southward  before  them,  and  their  last  re- 
presentatives are  probably  the  Alacaluf  of  Tierra  del 
Fuego,but  it  is  possible  that  some  intermixture  between 
the  two  took  place,  since  the  latest  remains  of  the  coast, 
as  well  as  the  population  of  the  present  day,are  medium- 
headed.  Who  the  round-headswerecannot  be  stated  with 
certainty,  but  it  is  probable  that  they  were  related  to  the 
inhabitants  of  the  upland  Punas  of  Atacama  and  Jujuy. 
This  probability  rests  not  only  on  the  geographical  prox- 
imity of  the  latter,  but  also  on  archaeological  evidence, 
for  remains  have  been  found  on  the  Loa  river  and  in  the 


THE  SOUTHERN   PROVINCES     219 

bay  of  Antofagasta  which  are  exactly  similar  to  those  of 
the  desert  uplands.  Even  traces  of  Diaguite  or  Calcha- 
qui  influence  are  not  wanting  on  the  coast,  penetrating 
at  least  as  far  south  as  Coquimbo.  In  the  southern  part 
of  this  province  urn-burials  have  been  discovered,  as 
well  as  walls  built  of  rough  stones  (similar  to  those  of 
the  Diaguite  region),  which  were  already  there  when  the 
conquering  Inca  passed  through  the  country  ;  moreover 
it  seems  likely  that  the  coast-dwellers  imported  their 
copper  from  the  far  interior,  probably  in  exchange  for 
fish  and  shells,  since  many  of  the  latter  have  been  found 
in  the  inland  region. 

Their  pottery  however  is  rather  of  the  Peruvian  type  ; 
it  is  well  made,  often  covered  with  a  slip,  and  painted 
with  designs  in  black  on  the  red  surface.  The  principal 
patterns  are  scrolls,  meanders,  lozenges  and  chequers, 
but  figures  of  the  llama  also  occur.  At  the  time  of  the 
conquest  the  strip  of  coast  between  Arica  and  Atacama 
was  peopled  by  the  Uros,  a  primitive  fishing  and  hunt- 
ing tribe  whose  home  was  on  the  Desaguadero  leading 
south  from  Titicaca,  but  of  whom  a  number  seem  to  have 
been  settled  on  the  shore  as  mitimaes  by  the  Inca.  In 
Tarapaca  were  the  Charca,  also  a  Colla  people,  who  seern 
to  have  been  there  some  time,  since  skulls  with  the  typi- 
cal Colla  deformation  are  found  in  the  graves  (later  than 
those  of  the  round-heads)  associated  with  llama-wool 
textiles,  the  bodies  being  buried  contracted  in  the  Peru- 
vian fashion.  To  the  south  of  them  were  the  tribes 
called  collectively  Chango,  who  seem  in  former  times  to 
have  extended  further  north,  and  who  buried  at  full 
length.  From  the  earliest  age  down  to  a  period  subse- 
quent to  the  Spanish  conquest,  these  coast  people  seem 
to  have  led  much  the  same  life.  For  their  food  they 
looked  mostly  to  the  sea  ;  they  gathered  large  quantities 
of  shell-fish  which  they  broke  open  with  stone  hammers 
on  flat  slabs  of  rock,  speared  crabs  and  sea-urchins  with 
bone  harpoons  (as  is  done  at  the  present  time,  though 


220  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

the  spear  is  now  armed  with  telegraph-wire),  caught  fish 
with  nets  and  hooks,  and  hunted  larger  game,  such  as 
birds  (pri  ncipally  pelicans),  seals  and  huanacos.  To  judge 
from  the  population  at  the  conquest,  they  built  small 
huts  of  tolora-wood  and  seal-skins,  and  made  use  of 
balsas  constructed  from  the  same  materials.  Of  their 
religion  nothing  is  known,  except  that  small  chalk  idols 
have  been  found  in  the  graves  of  the  round-heads.  The 
last  people  probably  used  their  stone  mortars  to  grind 
seeds  and  roots,  and  may  even  have  practised  a  little  rude 
agriculture. 

The  Inca  conquest,  probably,  had  little  effect  upon 
these  primitive  coast-dwellers  ;  objects  of  Inca  type 
are  certainly  found  in  many  of  the  later  graves,  and  no 
doubt  a  tribute  of  fish  was  levied  upon  the  inhabitants. 
But  their  country  must  have  offered  small  scope  for 
development,  and  the  Inca  appear  to  have  concentrated 
their  efforts  upon  the  tracts  south  of  Copiapo.  From 
this  point  southward  the  country  was  occupied  by  a  very 
different  people,  the  Araucanian-speakers ;  who,  at  the 
time  of  the  Spanish  conquest,  spread  from  Atacama  to 
Chiloe.  According  to  Montesinos  friendly  relations  had 
been  established  between  the  Inca  and  the  inhabitants 
of  the  northern  section  of  this  region,  in  the  reign 
preceding  that  of  Uiracocha,  but  the  actual  conquest 
of  the  country  did  not  take  place  until  the  time  of  Pacha- 
cuti  or  his  son  Tupac.  As  will  be  seen  in  the  next  chapter, 
the  ethnology  of  the  Araucanians  is  complicated  ;  south 
of  the  river  Maule  they  were  almost  entirely  nomad 
and  were  distinguished  by  an  indomitable  courage  which 
defied  both  the  Inca  and  the  Spaniards.  But  their  north- 
ern branch,  the  Picunche,  extending  roughly  from 
Atacama  to  the  Maule,  were  at  most  semi-nomadic,  and, 
when  the  Spaniards  arrived,  lived  in  permanent  huts 
and  practised  agriculture,  being  familiar  both  with 
irrigation  and  the  properties  of  manure.  Usually  this 
more  sedentary  form  of  life  has  been  attributed  entirely 


THE  SOUTHERN   PROVINCES     221 

to  Inca  influence,  but  it  is  far  more  probable  that  some 
rude  form  of  agriculture  was  already  in  vogue  at  the 
time  of  the  Inca  conquest.  To  judge  from  the  fact  that 
the  country  had  been  subdued  but  a  short  time  before 
the  arrival  of  the  Spaniards,  it  seems  unlikely  that  the 
inhabitants  could  have  made  such  progress  had  they 
not  been  acquainted  beforehand  with  the  rudiments 
of  agriculture ;  and  there  is  no  reason  why  they  should 
not  have  resisted  the  Inca  arms  with  as  much  success 
as  the  tribes  of  kindred  speech  to  the  south,  if  their 
culture  had  been  identical  with  that  of  the  latter.  It  will 
be  seen  later  that  the  southern  Araucanians  are  obviously 
closely  connected  with  the  Pampas  tribes,  who  immi- 
grated into  the  country  and  conquered  the  original 
Araucanians,  but  adopted  their  speech.  It  may  be  con- 
cluded, therefore,  that  these  original  Araucanians  were 
a  people  who  practised  some  primitive  form  of  agricul- 
ture, and  that  the  Picunche,  though  forming  a  section 
of  the  later  Araucanian  nation,  included  so  large  an 
element  of  aborigines  that  their  more  sedentary  form 
of  culture  persisted.  The  introduction  of  superior 
methods,  especially  irrigation,  by  the  Inca,  the  establish- 
ment of  security  and  the  suppression  of  inter-tribal 
warfare,  could  thus  produce,  within  a  short  period, 
results  which  had  been  otherwise  almost  incredible. 
That  the  conquest  was  complete  we  know  from  the  fact 
that  a  large  number  ofmitimaes  were  established  in  the 
country.  At  length,  after  disastrous  attempts  to  sub- 
due the  nomadic  Araucanians  further  south,  the  river 
Maule  was  fixed  as  the  boundary  of  the  Inca  empire. 
Inca  remains,  however,  are  not  found  in  any  consider- 
able numbers  south  of  the  Choapa,  and  it  seems  probable 
that  the  district  between  this  river  and  the  Maule  was 
not  so  much  effectively  occupied,  as  placed  under  military 
control. 

The  people  inhabiting  the  Punas  (sterile  plateaux)  of 
Jujuy  and  Atacama,and  at  least  part  of  the  coast,  from  an 


222  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCH/EOLOGY 

irregular  line  drawn  from  Santa  Catalina  to  the  river  Loa, 
are  known  as  Atacama.  Thanks  to  the  labours  of  Am- 
brosettiand  Boman  a  fair  knowledge  of  their  archaeology 
has  been  obtained,  but  little  is  known  of  them  from  other 
sources.  They  constructed  dwellings  of  rough  stones 
piled  together  without  mortar,  similar  to  the  slate  walls 
seen  in  north  Cornwall,  a  form  of  construction  which  is 
locally  known  ?ispirca.  The  more  extensive  of  these  habi- 
tations consist  of  an  intricate  system  of  walls,  covering  a 
considerable  area,  and  forming  enclosures  unprovided 
with  doorways,  so  that  many  of  them  cannot  be  reached 
except  over  the  walls  of  the  rest,  a  peculiarity  recalling 
the  buildings  of  the  Peruvian  coast.  Many  of  these  cham- 
bers contain  a  monolithic  pillar,  the  meaning  of  which  is 
unknown.  The  dead  were  deposited  in  caves,  in  a  squat- 
ting position  along  the  walls,  or  were  buried  in  the 
ground  in  a  contracted  position.  From  the  mortuary 
caverns  and  graves  numbers  of  objects  have  been  ob- 
tained which  shed  considerable  light  on  the  daily  life  of 
the  people.  Discoveries  of  maize,  stone  mortars,  and 
spades  prove  that  they  were  to  some  extent  agricul- 
turists, apart  from  the  fact  that  traces  of  terrace- 
cultivation  have  been  found  locally.  Some  of  the  spades 
are  of  plain  wood,  but  others  are  furnished  with  blades 
of  schist  of  a  type  peculiar  to  this  area  ;  certain  knife- 
shaped  objects  of  wood,  also  characteristic  of  the  region, 
may  possibly  have  been  employed  in  agriculture.  But 
the  Atacama  were  also  a  pastoral  people  ;  remains  of  the 
llama  are  frequent,  as  well  as  the  wooden  toggles  be- 
longing to  their  harness.  Like  the  Peruvians  they  kept 
dogs,  but  of  a  different  variety.  Game  of  course  was 
scarce  in  this  desolate  neighbourhood,  but  quantities  of 
arrows,  besides  bows,  have  been  found,  which  may  have 
been  used  in  hunting  or  in  war.  These  arrows  are  of 
two  types,  wood-pointed  and  stone-headed  ;  the  two  are 
not  usually  found  together,  but  the  irregularity  of  their 
distribution  has  not  yet  been  explained.  The  stone  heads 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES     223 

are  well  worked,  better  in  fact  than  those  of  Patagonia 
(Fig.  32) ;  in  the  uplands  they  are  more  usually  fur- 
nished with  a  tang,  while  those  on  the  coast  are  not. 
These  heads  are  lashed  to  a  wooden  foreshaft,  and  the 
shaft  itself  is  feathered,  and  sometimes  furnished  with 
a  counterweight  of  resin.  Many  of  the  skulls  exhibit 
signs  of  artificial  deformation,  and  the  form  of  the  teeth 
was  occasionally  modified  by  chipping.  Woven  cloth- 
ing of  llama-wool  was  worn,  in  the  form  of  tunics  with 
or  without  sleeves,  similar  to  those  of  Peru  though 
rather  longer  ;  these  are  well  made,  and  often  orna- 
mented with  stripes  woven  in  the  material.  Spindles, 
and  wooden  needles  furnished  with  eyes,  have  also 
been  found.  Over  the  tunic  was  worn  a  poncho,  and 
a  hide  cuirass  has  been  discovered  on  the  coast.  Wooden 
needle-cases,  spoons,  spatulas,  and  "  palettes  "  are  among 
the  carved  objects,  and  are  often  ornamented  with  hu- 
man figures  rudely  cut  and,  in  some  cases,  with  inlaid 
eyes.  The  stone  objects  do  not  show  great  variety  ; 
besides  those  already  mentioned,  flat  axes  of  schist, 
similar  to  the  spades,  are  characteristic  of  the  region, 
and  perforated  stones  like  those  found  in  far  greater 
numbers  in  central  Chile,  also  occur.  In  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Salinas  Grandes,  finds  have  been  made  of  imple- 
ments unlike  any  elsewhere  in  this  area,  consisting  of 
rudely  chipped  axes,  mainly  ovate  in  form,  and  polished 
celts  with  a  groove  encircling  the  butt.  This  neighbour- 
hood was  the  centre  of  a  considerable  trade  in  salt,  and  it 
is  possible  that  these  objects  were  in  some  way  connected 
with  the  salt  industry.  Metal  objects  are  rare,  but  star- 
shaped  pendants  and  knives  of  Peruvian  type  (similar  to 
Fig.  27,f)have  been  found.  Cobres,  nearSalinasGrandes, 
is  the  site  of  ancient  copper-workings,  but  these  must 
most  probably  be  ascribed  to  the  Diaguite  or  the  Inca, 
since  the  remains  of  a  huaira  have  been  discovered  on 
a  neighbouring  hill.  Galleries  were  driven  into  the  lode 
at  an  angle  of  45  degrees,  and  the  ore  was  crushed  with 


224  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCH/EOLOGY 

large  stone  blocks.  The  pottery  for  the  most  part  is 
rudeand  without  ornamentj  but  fragments  with  designs 
in  black  painted  on  a  red  slip — similar  to  the  ware  of 
the  coast  burials — is  not  uncommon,  and  occasional 
specimens  show  Peruvian  influence.  Inca  influence  is 
naturally  more  apparent  near  the  coast,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  great  road  which  ran  from  Cuzco  to 
Copiapo,  passing  through  San  Pedro  de  Atacama.  The 
Atacama  culture  appears  to  have  extended  beyond  the 
plateau,  notably  along  the  Quebrada  del  Toro  which 
stretches  in  a  southerly  direction  from  Salinas  Grandes; 
but  here  it  is  modified  by  Diaguite  influence,  the  exact 
character  of  which  can  be  better  understood  after  that 
interesting  people  have  been  described. 

The  area  of  the  Diaguite  culture  seems  to  have  com- 
prised the  southern  portion  of  Jujuy,  Salta,  Catamarca, 
western  Tucuman,  Rioja  and  San  Juan ;  the  last  two  pro- 
vinces, however,  have  been  insufficiently  investigated, 
and  by  far  the  largest  proportion  of  remains  comes  from 
southern  Salta,  Catamarca  and  western  Tucuman.  One 
language,  called  Kakan,  prevailed  throughout.  From 
the  little  information  which  has  been  preserved  con- 
cerning the  tribes  of  this  region,  it  would  seem  that 
their  religion  was  markedly  similar  to  that  of  the  Andean 
peoples  further  north.  The  Sun  was  worshipped  as  the 
most  important  power,  and  ofi'erings  were  made  to  him 
in  order  that  he  might  grant  fertility  to  the  fields  and 
herds.  One  form  of  offering  consisted  of  a  deer's  head 
in  which  were  stuck  a  number  of  arrows.  The  Thunder 
ranked  next  in  importance.  But  perhaps  the  most 
ancient  form  of  worship  was  the  cult  of  trees  and  of 
stones,  of  which  the  latter  was  connected  with  ancestor- 
worship,  and  survives  to  some  extent  at  the  present  day. 
At  the  highest  point  of  a  pass  a  heap  of  stones  is  gene- 
rally to  be  found,  and  the  Indian  traveller  never  fails 
to  deposit  an  offering  of  coca  at  this  primitive  shrine. 
Small  stone  figures  of  llamas  have  been  discovered  which 


PLATE  XXIV 


H 
'A 

W 
O 


2  5 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES     225 

almost  certainly  were  fertility  charms  like  those  of  the 
region  to  the  north.  .Reverence  was  also  paid  to  Pacha- 
mama,  and  a  dance  in  which  animal  masks  were  worn 
(as  on  certain  occasions  in  Peru)  used  to  be  held  in 
honour  of  a  divinity  called  Chiqui.  It  is  impossible  to 
say  how  far  these  practices  were  the  result  of  later 
contact  with  the  Inca,  but  it  is  probable  that  most  of  them 
date  from  the  earliest  times  and  are  due  rather  to  com- 
munity of  origin  than  to  later  intercourse.  The  dwell- 
ings (PI.  XXIV,  I )  erected  by  the  Diaguite  tribes  cannot 
be  compared  with  the  more  important  structures  of 
Peru  and  Bolivia,  but  resemble  the  least  imposing  of 
the  buildings  of  those  countries.  The  walls,  dry-built 
of  well-chosen  stones  {pind)^  are  arranged  in  a  rect- 
angle or  circle,  and  except  in  rare  cases  do  not  attain  a 
height  greater  than  about  i|^yds.  Traces  of  roof-beams 
have  been  found,  and  it  is  probable  that  these  were  fur- 
nished with  a  covering  of  thatch  as  in  Peru.  The  houses 
are  arranged  in  villages,  nearly  always  on  some  eminence, 
and  very  frequently  contain  one  or  more  monolithic 
pillars  (PI.  XXIV,  2),  sometimes  sculptured,  of  which 
the  significance  is  unknown.  In  Catamarca  circular 
constructions  of  tapia  have  been  found.  The  remains 
from  graves  show  that  the  Diaguite  were  expert  weavers, 
manufacturing  tunics  of  llama-wool,  which  were  often 
ornamented  with  stripes.  These  tunics  were  rather 
longer  than  those  of  Peru,  and  the  sleeves,  when  pre- 
sent, were  very  short ;  many  spindle-whorls  of  engraved 
stone  have  been  found,  but  no  loom  has  at  present  come 
to  light.  From  the  pottery  figurines  and  the  pictographs, 
it  may  be  gathered  that  plumed  head-dresses  were  com- 
mon, consisting  of  a  woollen  band  fringed  with  feathers 
arranged  regularly  or  in  groups.  Cylindrical  beads  of 
turquoise  and  other  blue  minerals  were  worn  as  orna- 
ments, as  well  as  embossed  copper  breast-plates  (PI. 
XXV,  3),  and  diadems  of  gold  and  copper.  Hide  sandals 
were  in  general  use.    Maize  was  cultivated,  and  in  some 


226  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

places  the  hill-sides  are  terraced,  but  traces  of  terrace- 
cultivation  are  rare,  and  the  practice  is  probably  due  to 
Peruvian  influence.  Stone  mortars  are  common  in  the 
ruined  dwellings  (PI.  XXV,  i  and  2)  ;  the  majority  are 
of  a  very  rude  pattern,  but  a  certain  number  of  magnifi- 
cent specimens,  with  lizards  and  frogs  in  relief,  has 
been  found  ;  such  works  of  art  may  also  be  the  result  of 
contact  with  the  Inca. 

Graves  are  numerous  throughout  the  country.  We 
are  told  that,  in  later  times,  the  dying  were  attended 
by  their  friends  and  relations,  and  that  arrows  were  fixed 
in  the  ground  in  a  ring  around  the  patient.  After  death 
a  period  of  mourning  and  feasting  ensued,  and  the  de- 
ceased was  buried  together  with  his  dogs,  arms  and  other 
possessions,  his  hut  being  burnt.  Death,  except  by 
violence,  was  attributed  to  evil  magic,  and  the  souls  of 
the  dead  were  supposed  to  become  stars.  The  graves 
vary  considerably  in  type,  but  the  body  was  always 
arranged  in  a  contracted  position,  usually  on  its  back 
or  side,  very  rarely  in  a  vertical  position  as  among  the 
Atacama.  Frequently  the  head  was  removed  and  buried 
at  a  distance.  The  graves  are  found  sometimes  isolated, 
sometimes  in  groups.  Occasionally  natural  caves  have 
been  utilized  as  mausolea,  and  in  some  cases  the  dead 
have  been  buried  in  their  houses.  Sometimes  there  is 
no  indication  to  mark  the  presence  of  a  burial,  in  others, 
alignments  of  stones  in  the  form  of  rectangles,  circles, 
semicircles  and  ovals,  are  arranged  on  the  surface  of  the 
ground  ;  in  rare  cases  a  tumulus  is  raised  above  the 
grave.  Sometimes  again  the  body  is  enclosed  in  a  ring  of 
stones  beneath  the  earth,  or  the  grave  may  be  lined  with 
pirca  or  with  great  slabs.  Urn-burial,  in  the  case  of 
adults,  is  very  rare,  and  confined  to  a  few  localities  in  the 
east  of  this  area  ;  the  urns  are  unornamented,  and  it  has 
been  conjectured  with  some  reason  that  this  custom  may 
be  due  to  Guarani  influence  intrusive  from  the  east.  But 
this  brings  us  to  one  of  the  most  peculiar  and  interesting 


THE  SOUTHERN   PROVINCES     227 

features  of  the  Diaguite  culture.  Whole  cemeteries  have 
been  discovered,  mainly  in  the  Calchaqui  and  Yocavil 
valleys,  devoted  to  very  young  infants,  whose  remains 
are  deposited  in  large  urns  of  excellent  pottery  covered 
with  elaborate  painted  decoration .  Two  main  types  of  urn 
can  be  distinguished,  characteristic  respectively  of  the 


Fig.  28. — Diaguite  polychrome  pottery. 
a  Santa  Maria  (burial-urn).       d  Andalgala.       c  Tinogasta  (burial-urn). 
(Scale  ^.)  [After  Lafone-Quevedo.] 

neighbourhoods  of  Santa  Maria  (Fig.  28,  a)  and  of  Tino- 
gasta (Fig.  28,  ^) ;  each  type  is  found  in  both  localities, 
but  in  general  the  Santa  Maria  urns  are  comparatively 
long  and  narrow,  those  of  Tinogasta  wide  and  de- 
pressed. In  either  case  these  urns  consist  of  a  globu- 
lar body,  with  a  handle  on  either  side,  surmounted  by 
a  neck  with  everted  edge.  Most  of  them,  especially  the 
Santa  Maria  type,  have  a  human  face  painted  on  the 
neck,  with  a  number  of  lines,  possibly  representing  tears, 


228  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

leading  from  theeyes  tothecheeks;  the  hands  are  also  re- 
presented,placed  together  under  the  chin,  and  sometimes 
holding  a  cup  as  in  Ecuador  and  Peru.  In  the  Tino- 
gasta  type,  human  features  are  less  common,  and  have 
in  some  cases  been  added  in  relief  The  rest  of  the  de- 
coration consists  of  figures  of  birds  and  reptiles,  and 
various  geometrical  patterns,  some  at  least  of  which  are 
derived  from  the  former.  On  the  Santa  Maria  type, 
birds  are  more  common,  on  the  Tinogasta  type,  snakes 
and  frogs.  These  designs  are  painted  in  black  and  red 
on  a  cream  or  buff  slip,  or,  in  the  Tinogasta  area,  in 
black  on  red  ;  the  pottery  itself  is  good  and  reddish  in 
colour.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  new-born  in- 
fants whose  remains  are  enclosed  in  these  urns  were  the 
victims  of  sacrifice ;  and  the  fact  that  they  are  buried 
together  apart  from  the  adult  population,  and  in  special 
receptacles  of  so  elaborate  a  nature,seems  to  support  this 
view.  Urn-burial  of  any  sort  is  rare  in  the  Andean  re- 
gion, and  it  is  interesting  to  recall  that  the  Puruha  of 
Ecuador  were  accustomed  to  sacrifice  the  first-born  and 
preserve  the  body  in  a  vase  of  stone  or  metal  (p.  66). 
TheDiaguite  urnsare  furnished  with  covers  in  the  shape 
of  pottery  bowls  similarly  ornamented.  As  a  whole  the 
pottery  of  this  region  is  well  worthy  of  close  study.  Be- 
sides vases  of  coarse  manufacture,  some  of  which  ap- 
pear to  be  of  earlier  date  than  the  finer  ware,  the  pots 
fall  into  two  main  types,  polychrome  and  black.  In  both 
types  the  clay  is  well  mixed,  though  the  paste  is  not  so 
good  as  in  Peru  ;  powdered  sherds  or  friable  rock  was 
mixed  with  it,and  the  vessels  were  built  up  by  the  coiling 
process,  or,  in  rare  cases,  moulded  in  a  basket.  In  the 
case  of  the  polychrome  ware,  the  vessel  was  then  covered, 
sometimes  on  both  surfaces,  with  a  cream  or  buff  slip, 
on  which  the  designs  were  painted  in  black  picked  out 
with  crimson.  In  the  case  of  the  black  ware,  thick  plum- 
bago slip  was  employed,  and  the  designs  incised  with  a 
graving-tool  possessing  one  or  more  points  (Fig.  29,  a 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES     229 

and  ^).  The  shapes  of  the  vases  are  graceful  and  sym- 
metrical ;  the  bodies  are  usually  globular  with  a  small  flat 
base,  and  are  furnished  with  a  short  neck  terminating 
in  a  rim,  and,  in  many  cases,  a  pair  of  handles.  The 
Peruvian  pattern  shown  in  PL  XXII,  5-7,  is  frequently 
found,  and  many  of  the  specimens  were,  no  doubt,  im- 
ported, but  the  type  was  frequently  copied  on  the  spot 
and  adorned  with  designs  which  are  quite  local  in  char- 
acter (Fig.  29,  c).    Other  Peruvian  types  are  vases  with 


Fig.  29. — A  and  B  Diaguite  black  engraved  pottery  (scale  l). 

C  Vase  of  Peruvian  type  hut  local  manufacture  ;  Calchaqui  valley  (after 

Boman  :  scale  i). 

globular  bodies  on  an  expanding  foot  (like  Fig.  6,f),  and 
jugs  with  a  single  handle.  In  general  the  ornament  is 
much  the  same  as  that  of  the  funerary  urns,  with  the  ex- 
ception that  the  vases  for  ordinary  use  were  not  given 
the  same  anthropomorphic  character.  Birds,  frogs  and 
snakes,  in  all  stages  of  conventionalization,  are  common, 
as  well  as  geometrical  designs,  which  in  some  cases  re- 
call the  Yea  style.  The  engraved  pots  bear  designs  even 
more  closely  akin  to  those  of  the  Peruvian  coast,  gro- 
tesque monsters  with  multiple  heads  (Fig.  21,  f)  which 
bear  a  striking  likeness  to  the  oldest  Nasca  vases,  and 


230  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

dragon-like  creatures  (Fig.  21,^)  which  must  certainly 
belong  to  the  same  species  as  those  of  the  red-white-black 
ware  of  Recuay  and  elsewhere  (Fig.  2  i,rt  and  J).  Certain 
of  the  painted  vases  from  the  Tinogasta  area,  which  bear 
figuresof  conventional  pumas  drawn  in  bold  flowinglines 
(Fig.  28,  b),  also  recall  the  Nasca  pottery.  It  was  once 
thought  that  the  black  ware,  which  is  commoner  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  Tinogasta,  might  belong  to  a  period 
different  from  that  of  the  painted  pottery,  but  the  recent 
discovery  of  both  types  in  a  single  grave  would  seem  to 
prove  that  they  were  contemporary.^  Pottery  figurines 
made  of  both  classes  of  pottery  are  common. 

Few  implements  of  wood  and  bone  have  been  found, 
possibly  owing  to  the  fact  that  the  climate  is  unfavour- 
able to  the  preservation  of  these  materials.  Bone  arrow- 
heads, however,  are  found  in  some  numbers,  as  well  as 
arrow-heads  of  silicious  rock.  The  bow  seems  to  have 
been  the  chief  weapon  of  the  Diaguite  tribes,  some  of 
whom,  we  know,  were  good  fighters,  and  offered  con- 
siderable opposition  to  the  Spaniards,  We  are  told  that 
the  warriors  were  accompanied  by  their  women,  who, 
torch  in  hand,  drove  back  those  who  would  seek  safety 
in  flight,  and,  when  the  battle  was  lost,  hurled  themselves 
from  a  rock  rather  than  fall  into  the  hands  of  the  con- 
querors. Axes  both  of  stone  and  copper  were  also  em- 
ployed, the  former  perhaps  rather  in  agriculture  than  in 
war.  Characteristic  of  this  region  is  a  type  of  celt  which 
is  furnished  with  a  transverse  groove  at  the  butt  which 
does  not  quite  encircle  the  implement.  This  type,  though 
common  in  North  America,  is  rare  in  the  Southern  Conti- 
nent except  in  Ecuador  (Fig.  4,  e).    A  single  stone  mask 

1  I  have  just  received  from  Prof.  Lafone-Quevedo  the  following 
note  on  the  quality  of  the  pottery  of  the  Tinogasta  district  : — "  In  the 
London  district  [i.e.  around  Tinogasta]  especially,  in  the  polychrome  and 
black  pottery  ornamented  with  dragons  and  hydras,  we  have  very  beauti- 
ful specimens  of  the  potter's  art  ;  perfect  material,  carefully  prepared  and 
burnt  almost  to  a  glaze — some  of  the  fragments  might  be  modern  stone- 
ware, so  very  hard  are  they." 


PLAJE  XX]' 


X.W.   ARGKXTINA 
I,  2.  Stone  Mortars:  Catamarca 

3.  Copper  Disc  :  Catamarca 

4.  Copper  Axe-blade  :  Caiamarca 

(Sc;ilc  :    I,  2,  1/8111  :  3.  4,   i/6'i  11) 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES     231 

has  been  discovered,  and  the  occasional  occurrence  of 
more  or  less  spherical  stones,  artificially  ground,  points 
to  the  fact  that  the  sling  was  known  here  as  well  as  in 
Atacama. 

Copper  objects  are  common,  and  this  metal  was  prob- 
ably smelted  out  locally,  as  in  Peru.  Many  of  the  ob- 
jects are  quite  Peruvian  in  type,  knives  (similar  to  Fig. 
27,  c),  light  tanged  axes,  small  chisels,  topos  (cloak-pins, 
as  Fig.  II,  e)y  tweezers  (as  Fig.  11,  /'),  and  so  forth  ; 
but  a  certain  number  seem  to  be  more  or  less  peculiar 
to  the  district.  These  are  certain  types  of  axes,  plaques, 
bells,  and  the  so-called  "  knuckle-dusters."  Besides  the 
heavy  axe-blades  with  one  or  more  pairs  of  projections  at 
the  butt,a  numberof  ornamental  blades  have  been  found 
which  were  probably  used  as  insignia  or  for  ceremonial 
purposes.  The  simplest  of  these  have  a  curved  projec- 
tion issuing  from  the  top  edge  of  the  blade  (Fig.  30,  ^), 
the  more  elaborate  have  the  butt  modelled  and  engraved 
to  form  a  monstrous  head  crowned  with  rays  (PI.  XXV, 
4) ;  the  most  ornate  represent  in  solid  metal  a  blade  of 
the  latter  form  hafted  in  a  flat  handle.  The  plaques  are 
of  two  types,  large  and  solid,  with  rude  faces  and  figures 
of  snakes  in  relief  (PI.  XXV,  3),  or  smaller,  covered 
with  far  more  elaborate  designs  partly  cast  and  partly 
worked.  The  finest  specimen  which  has  yet  been  dis- 
covered represents  a  human  or  divine  figure  standing  be- 
tween jaguars  or  pumas  (Fig.  30,  a).  The  bells  (Fig. 
30,  d)y  which  are  quite  unlike  anything  else  in  South 
America,  are  oval  or  rectangular  in  section,  and  wider  at 
the  mouth  than  at  the  top,  round  the  rim  usually  runs  a 
band  of  ornament  in  relief,  and  the  top  is  flat  and  pierced 
with  two  holes  for  suspension.  Wooden  bells  of  similar 
shape  have  been  found  in  Atacama,  together  with  copper 
pendants  and  other  objects  which  are  obviously  of  Dia- 
guite  origin.  The  so-called  "  knuckle-dusters  "  (Fig. 
30,  c)  are  also  unique  and  consist  of  a  semicircular  band, 
large  enough  to  admit  the  hand,  with  a  more  or  less  orna- 


232  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

mental  spur  or  knife-blade  projecting  from  one  end.  The 
portion  of  the  band  which  would  pass  over  the  knuckles 
is  usually  broader  than  the  rest,  and  is  sometimes  orna- 
mented with  small  figures  in  relief.  The  whole  weapon 
recalls  the  ring-handled  daggers  which  are  characteristic 
of  the  western  Sudan.    Gold  objects  are  rare,  and  con- 


FiG.  30. — Copper  objects,  Diaguite  area, 

a  copper  plaque;  Catamarca  (J).         /;  copper  axe  ;  Beleii  [\). 

c  copper  "knuckle-duster"  ;  La  Paya  {\).  d  copper  bell ;  Jujuy  (J). 

[b-d  after  Ambrosetti.] 

sist  mainly  of  ornaments,  such  as  diadems,  which  were 
probably  worn  by  chiefs.  The  metal  was  probably  im- 
ported from  Peru,  for  though  gold-workings  are  found 
near  Santa  Catalina,  there  is  no  proof  that  they  be- 
long to  pre-Spanish  times.  Amongst  other  objects 
may  be  mentioned  calabash  bowls  ornamented  with  de- 
signs in  "  poker-work,"  similar  to  those  which  have  been 
found  in  the  Atacama  region  and  in  Peru  ;  and  a  wooden 


THE  SOUTHERN  PROVINCES     233 

beaker  with  inlaid  designs  in  mastic,lik:especimensfound 
in  northern  Bolivia. 

As  mentioned  before,  the  region  of  the  Quebrada  del 
Toro,  which  runs  from  Salinas  Grandes  to  the  Lerma 
valley  south  of  Salta,  and  the  Lerma  valley  itself,  are  in- 
teresting as  affording  remains  which  show  a  mixture  of 
cultures.  In  the  Quebrada  del  Toro,  at  different  sites, 
are  found  pirca  ruins,  on  the  one  hand  of  isolated  build- 
ings like  those  of  the  Diaguite,  on  the  other,  of  huge 
agglomerations  of  dwellings  like  some  of  those  of  the 
Atacama.  Other  points  in  common  with  the  archaeology 
of  the  Atacama  are,  the  number  of  wooden  implements, 
knives  and  llama-harness-toggles,  very  rude  pottery, 
and  (locally)  perpendicular  burials.  Features  bearingwit- 
ness  to  Diaguite  influence  are :  the  presence  of  plumbago 
ware,  large  urns  of  the  Santa  Maria  type,  but  undecor- 
ated,  vases  with  painted  ornament,  and  (locally)  hori- 
zontal burials.  The  Lerma  valley  is  interesting  for  two 
reasons,  the  presence  of  a  remarkable  series  of  tumuli, 
and  a  cemetery  containing  adults  buried  in  large  un- 
decorated  urns. 

The  tumuli  are  low  mounds  of  reddish  earth,  nine  or 
ten  feet  in  diameter,  each  surrounded  with  a  single  or 
double  row  of  stones  ;  they  are  disposed  with  perfect 
symmetry  in  long  parallel  lines,  and  number  more  than 
fifteen  hundred.  A  group  of  them  is  surrounded  with  a 
rectangular  rampart  of  earth,  about  three  feet  high  and 
six  feet  wide,  inside  which  runs  a  ditch.  Excavations 
showed  that  the  earth,  of  which  these  tumuli  are  com- 
posed,differs  from  the  black  soil  on  which  they  are  raised, 
but  revealed  no  remains  of  any  sort,  though  a  neigh- 
bouring "  camp,"  also  surrounded  by  a  rampart,  yielded 
many  fragments  of  black  engraved  ware.  The  purpose 
of  these  tumuli  is  at  present  a  mystery.  Adult  urn-burial, 
which  is  not  characteristic  of  Andean  culture,  is  also 
found  in  the  Lerma  valley,  in  San  Pedro  east  of  Jujuy, 
and  at  one  or  two  other  places  in  the  east  of  the  region 


234  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

with  which  we  are  now  concerned.  As  stated  before,  it  has 
been  conjectured  that  this  custom  is  due  to  Guarani  in- 
fluence emanating  from  Brazil,  and  to  the  same  source 
may  be  attributed  the  few  pipes,  of  wood  and  stone, 
which  are  also  found  here. 

Of  the  eastern  neighbours  of  the  Atacama  and  Dia- 
guite  peoples  little  can  be  said  ;  in  the  north,  around  the 
Quebrada  de  Humahuaca, north  of  Jujuy,lived  the  war- 
rior Omaguaca,  who  built  pirca  dwellings  and  fortifica- 
tions, made  rude  pottery  with  the  heads  of  men  and  birds 
in  relief,  and  lined  their  graves  with  stone.  South  of 
them  were  wild  tribes  called  Lule,  Toba  and  Toconote, 
hunters  in  the  main,  but  practising  a  little  agriculture. 
Further  south  in  the  Sierra  de  Cordoba  lived  the  Come- 
chingon,  linguistically  different  from  the  Diaguite,  but 
with  a  culture  more  nearly  approaching  theirs.  They  in- 
habited small  villages,  one  for  each  clan,  composed  of 
communal  houses  and  surrounded  with  a  cactus  hedge  ; 
they  were  agriculturists  practising  irrigation,  and  wove 
long  tunics  of  llama-wool,  which  they  decorated  with  shell 
buttons.  Other  ornaments  were  bracelets  and  frontlets 
of  copper.  Their  area  has  not  yet  been  archaeologically 
explored. 

Petroglyphs  and  pictographs  are  by  no  means  uncom- 
mon in  this  part  of  South  America  ;  those  of  Chile  and 
that  portion  of  north-west  Argentine  which  lies  west  of 
the  Diaguite  area  (PI.  XXVI,  9)  are  similar  to  those  of 
Peru,  and  figures  of  llamas  form  a  frequent  feature  of 
the  designs.  In  the  Diaguite  region  the  patterns  consist 
in  the  main  of  irregular  interlaced  curves  and  geo- 
metrical ornament  ;  they  are  found  usually  at  the  side 
of  roads  where  the  valley  narrows.  Some  of  them  in 
the  Humahuaca  valley  show  horses,  a  fact  which  proves 
them  to  be  of  a  date  subsequent  to  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards. 

That  the  culture  of  this  district  is  intimately  related 
to  that  of  Peru  is  obvious  from  its  archaeology.     The 


PLATE   XXVI 


ARGENTINA 
Rock  with  Pictogkai'HS  :  Antofagasta  de  la  Sierra 

( Fri^iii  iVn'o/ii's  "  C/iih%"  by  pcrtiiission  of  Messrs.  Ba>-7y  &r  Sons) 


SOUTH KRN 

1.  Bonk  Awi.  :  Huasco 

2.  Bone  Spoon  :  Huasco 

3.  Bone  Fishhook:  Huasco 

4.  W  0(  1 1 )  E  N   A  K  K  o  w  1 1  !•:  A I ;  :   A  K  I  ( •  A 


l^tilish  Miisaini 

'KRU    and   CMHLK 

5.  Stone  Sinker  :  Auica 

6.  Copper  Harpoon  :  Arica 

7.  Wooden  Spoon  :  Arica 

S.   SrONE-llEADED    FISH-SPEAR    WITH 

copper  karb  :  Arica 


THE  SOUTHERN   PROVINCES     235 

evidence  for  the  antiquity  of  that  relation  has  already 
been  discussed.  It  need  only  be  mentioned  that,  besides 
the  coast  road  through  A  tacama  to  Copiapo,  traces  of  other 
Inca  roads  exist  in  the  region  of  the  Calchaqui  valley, 
the  Quebrada  del  Toro  and  the  Lerma  valley.  It  is  prob- 
able that  the  Inca  hold  was  strongest  in  Tucuman,  since 
that  province  offered  practically  no  resistance  to  the  Span- 
ish conquerors. 


CHAPTER  XI— THE  SOUTHERN  ANDES 
AND   PLAINS 

FROM  the  area  last  described  we  pass  southwards 
to  a  region  where  all  traces  of  Inca  influence  are 
lost,  and  a  lower  culture  of  different  type  prevails.  This 
region  is  constituted  by  the  southern  section  of  Chile, 
the  southern  portions  of  the  ArgentineprovincesofMen- 
doza,  San  Luis,  Cordoba  and  Santa  Fe,  Buenos  Aires 
and  the  rest  of  the  Argentine  Republic  to  the  south.  In 
the  west  the  physical  formation  of  the  land  is  of  the  same 
character asin Peru,  TheCordilleraoftheAndesstretches 
southward  in  an  unbroken  line  until  it  falls  gradually 
beneath  the  waters  of  the  Antarctic,  but  the  western  Cor- 
dillera fails  to  preserve  its  continuity  to  the  same  extent. 
The  latter  begins  to  break  down  in  Valdivia,  where  a  suc- 
cession of  lakes  has  been  formed,  and,  after  recovering 
itself,  finally  falls  away  in  a  series  of  islands  off  the  coast. 
In  the  north,  the  high  ground  of  the  Andes  stretches  into 
the  Argentine  provinces  of  Mendoza  and  Neuquen,but 
falls  rapidly  eastward  into  a  vast  open  plain,  known  as 
the  Pampas,  covered  with  herbaceous  vegetation  sloping 
gently  to  the  Atlantic,  and  extending  as  far  south  as  the 
Rio  Negro.  This  plain  is  broken  only  by  isolated  series 
of  hills  in  Buenos  Aires.  South  of  the  Rio  Negro  is 
the  Patagonian  plateau,  consisting  of  a  succession  of  low 
chains,  undulating  plains,  deep  depressions  and  table- 
lands. The  scenery  here  is  extremely  desolate,  at  the 
worst,  wide  expanses  of  sand  or  gravel,  at  best,  extended 
plains  of  scrub,  ringed  round  with  barren  mountainous 
country.  Even  in  the  western  district,  where  a  succession 
of  large  lakes  is  found,  the  country  maintains  the  same 

236 


SOUTHERN  ANDES  AND   PLAINS  237 

character.  West  of  the  Andes  the  rainfall  is  consider- 
able, but  in  the  Pampas  and  throughout  Patagonia  the 
climate  is  both  dry  and  invigorating. 

The  llama  is  not  found  in  this  part  of  America,  but  the 
huanaco  is  common,  and  the  rhea,  or  American  ostrich, 
is  characteristic  of  the  country  east  of  the  Andes.  In 
earlier  times  a  more  varied  fauna  roamed  the  country  ; 
remains  of  gigantic  sloths  have  been  discovered  as  far 
south  as  southern  Patagonia,  the  toxodon,  a  large  hoofed 
animal,  wandered  over  the  Pampas,  where  too  existed 
huge  armadillos  and  the  sabre-toothed  cat.  Even  a  primi- 
tive form  of  the  horse  was  present,  though  it  had  long 
been  extinct  when  the  first  white  men  entered  the  conti- 
nent. It  is  necessary  to  mention  these  animals,  which, 
at  any  rate  in  other  parts  of  the  world,  are  characteristic 
of  the  quaternary  or  pleistocene  era,  because  the  remains 
of  man  have  been  found  associated  with  them.  The  jaw 
of  a  sabre-toothed  cat  has  been  discovered  with  a  flint 
arrow-head  fixed  in  it,  the  bones  of  great  sloths  and  other 
animals,  broken  and  scratched  by  the  primitive  hunter, 
have  been  found,  and  carapaces  of  the  giant  armadillo 
have  been  unearthed  in  surroundings  which  suggest  that 
the  men  of  this  remote  epoch  used  them  as  shelters.  One 
of  the  most  interesting  of  such  finds  is  the  discovery,  in 
a  cave  at  Ultima  Esperanza  (Last  Hope)  in  Patagonia,  of 
the  remains  of  one  or  more  huge  sloths  {mylodori)  to- 
gether with  abundant  traces  of  the  primitive  hunters  who 
killed  and  ate  them.  Here  the  animal  remains,  some  of 
which  may  be  seen  at  the  Natural  History  Museum,  ap- 
pear so  fresh  that  we  are  almost  forced  to  conclude  that 
these,  and  perhaps  other,  extinct  monsters  lingered  on  in 
South  America  until  a  period  considerably  later  than 
quaternary  times. 

However  that  may  be,  the  discovery  of  actual  human 
remains  in  strata  belonging  to  the  pleistocene  era,  proves 
the  existence  of  quaternary  man  in  this  part  of  the  New 
World.    Most  of  these  finds  have  been  made  in  the  pro- 


238  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

vince  of  Buenos  Aires,  and  the  fact  that  man's  presence 
in  South  America  at  this  early  age  is  now  universally 
recognized  is  due  inthemaintothelaboursof  Ameghino. 
It  was  several  years  before  the  antiquity  of  his  discover- 
ies was  generally  accepted,  no  doubt  partly  because  his 
dating  of  the  geological  formations,  in  which  the  remains 
were  found,  could  not  be  endorsed  by  geologists  at  large. 
Most  of  them  he  attributed  to  the  pliocene,  or  even  the 
miocene,  era,  but  it  is  now  generally  believed  that  they 
belong,  with  one  possible  exception,  to  the  middle  qua- 
ternary period.  Even  that  exception  is  generally  held 
to  be  no  earlier  than  the  first  quaternary  epoch. 

In  Europe  the  quaternary  age  is  associated  with  a 
special  type  of  rudely  chipped  stone  implement,  the  suc- 
ceeding era,  with  stone  implements  showing  finer  flak- 
ing (including  arrow-heads,  not  found  in  quaternary 
times),  and  tools  of  polished  stone.  It  is  interesting 
to  observe  that  both  these  types,  known  respectively  as 
palaeolithic  and  neolithic,  are  found  in  Patagonia.  At 
present  the  palaeolithic  remains  are  few,  and  confined 
principally  to  the  coast  region  between  the  rivers  Chubut 
andChico,butoneof  thesitesis  of  importance  since  here 
alone  both  types  have  been  found  in  superimposed  strata. 
In  Arroyo  Observacion,  a  little  to  the  north  of  Cape 
Blanco,  implements  of  palaeolithic  type  were  discovered 
in  a  quaternary  stratum,  while  in  the  ground  at  some 
distance  above  were  imbedded  others  of  neolithic  charac- 
ter. The  palaeolithic  implements  of  South  America  con- 
sist mainly  of  knives  and  scrapers  (Fig.  32)  of  a  type 
corresponding,  not  to  the  earliest  class  of  such  objects 
which  are  found  in  Europe,  but  rather  to  those  charac- 
teristic of  Saint  Acheul  and  Le  Moustier;  nor  are  they 
entirely  limited  to  Patagonia,  since  they  have  been  found 
also  in  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires. 

As  to  the  physical  characteristics  of  the  race  which 
manufactured  and  used  them,  a  sufficient  number  of 
skulls  has  been  discovered  to  establish  the  presence  of 


SOUTHERN  ANDES  AND  PLAINS   239 

two  types  in  South  America  even  at  this  early  date. 
One  of  these  is  distinguished  by  a  long  and  narrow 
form  of  head,  with  retreating  forehead,  the  other  by  a 
broader  skull  of  higher  type  ;  both  were  short  in 
stature.  The  same  elements,  the  broad-headed  and 
long-headed,  can  be  distinguished  among  the  popula- 
tion, of  which  we  are  now  dealing  with  the  area,  though 
by  the  time  of  the  conquest  they  had  become  so  mixed 
as  to  render  exact  classification  of  the  various  peoples 
extremely  difficult.  Along  the  southern  Chilean  coast 
and  archipelagos  are  found  the  remains  of  the  same  two 
primitive  populations  as  in  the  coastal  districts  of  the 
region  last  described,  the  earlier  long-heads  and  later 
broad-heads  ;  and  right  down  in  the  south,  in  Tierra 
del  Fuego,  there  still  exists  a  very  primitive  race  of 
hunters  and  fishers,  of  whom  the  northern  section,  the 
Alacaluf,  are  probably  the  descendants  of  the  early  long- 
heads whose  remains  can  be  traced  so  far  to  the  north. 
But  the  later  ethnology  of  the  coast  has  been  further 
modified  by  occasional  intrusions  from  the  Araucanian- 
speaking  peoples  further  inland. 

The  classification  of  the  inlanders  is  a  very  difficult 
task  ;  though  speaking  a  common  language,  they  ex- 
hibit considerable  physical  and  cultural  variety.  The 
strong  probability  that  sedentary,  agricultural  habits 
prevailed  to  some  extent  in  Chile  before  the  coming  of 
the  Inca,  has  already  been  shown  ;  and  it  is  also  likely 
that  the  sedentary  tribes  were  the  originators  of  the 
Araucanian  language,  which,  at  the  arrival  of  the 
Spaniards,  prevailed  from  Atacama  to  Chiloe.  Upon 
this  population  descended  certain  nomadic  hordes  from 
the  Pampas,  displacing  and  fusing  with  the  aborigines. 
Where  the  adopted  element  was  small,  the  invaders  re- 
tained in  the  main  their  nomadic  habits,  though  they 
gradually  borrowed  certain  features  of  their  neigh- 
bours' culture  ;  where  it  was  large,  they  seem  to  have 
conformed  to  the  more  sedentary  mode  of  life  which 


240  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHtEOLOGY 

they  found  among  the  aborigines.  ThePicunche  people, 
mentioned  in  the  last  chapter,  seem  to  consist  in  the 
main  of  this  early  Araucanian  element,  with  a  slight 
admixture  of  invading  blood  ;  their  neighbours  to  the 
south  however,  the  Moluche,  between  the  Maule  and 
the  Tolten  rivers,  were  nomads,  and  this  section  of  the 
country  was  probably  the  point  at  which  the  invading 
tribes  entered  Chile,  driving  the  former  occupants  to 
the  south,  where  they  became  part  of  the  Huilliche 
nation  between  the  river  Tolten  and  the  north  of  the 
island  of  Chiloe.  Here  small  agricultural  communities 
were  found  by  the  explorers,  scattered  among  the  no- 
madic tribes,  and  these  probably  represented  the  re- 
mains of  the  old  Araucanian  stock.  To  the  east  of  the 
tribes  already  mentioned,  along  the  western  brow  of 
the  Andes  from  Aconcagua  to  Valdivia,  were  the 
Puenche,  in  culture  similar  to  the  nomads  of  the  Pam- 
pas, but  speaking  Araucanian.  Beyond  the  Andes  were 
the  Pampas  tribes  proper.  To  the  last-named,  who 
extended  as  far  east  as  Buenos  Aires,  the  collective 
term  Puelche  is  often  given.  These  Puelche,  whose 
original  home  seems  to  be  north  of  the  Rio  Negro, 
also  contributed  an  element  to  the  population  of  Chilean 
territory,  which  they  frequently  raided  between  Villa 
Rica  and  Corcovado.  Some  of  their  tribes  in  this  neigh- 
bourhood seem  even  to  have  adopted  the  Araucanian 
tongue. 

The  names  mentioned  are  not  racial,  but  national. 
Thus  the  term  Huilliche  merely  means  "  Men  of  the 
south,"  and  includes  the  very  primitive  fishing  popula- 
tion of  the  coast  (the  relics  of  the  ancient  shell-fish 
eaters  mixed  with  more  modern  elements),  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  small  agricultural  oases,  and  the  nomads 
of  the  highlands,  who  appear  to  have  been  a  branch  of 
the  Puelche.  So  too  the  name  Puelche  means  '*  Men 
of  the  east,"  and  was  applied  generally  to  the  nomads 
of  the  Pampas.     To  some  extent   however   there   is 


SOUTHERN  ANDES  AND  PLAINS  241 

justification  for  grouping  the  Pampas  tribes  together, 
in  so  far  as  one  form  of  culture  prevailed  throughout. 

The  physical  characters  of  the  people  as  investigated 
by  Latcham  seem  to  support  the  above  classification  of 
tribes.  The  more  sedentary  tribes  of  Chile  have  broad 
heads,  but  the  Moluche  type  is  less  broad.  The 
Puenche  again  is  long-headed,  and  this  fact  agrees  with 
the  theory  that  the  Moluche  people  had  their  origin  in 
a  Puenche  invasion.  In  the  Pampas  itself,  in  historical 
times,  only  broad-headed  people  have  been  found,  but 
on  the  Rio  Negro  long  skulls  have  been  discovered,  the 
possessors  of  which  were  probably  the  ancestors  of  the 
Puenche.  The  Huilliche  remains  are  very  mixed,  as 
well  as  those  of  the  coast  to  the  south  as  far  as  Fuegia. 
The  fact  that  the  invaders  have  abandoned  their  own 
language  in  favour  of  the  Araucanian  speech  offers  no 
difficulty  ;  a  body  of  raiders  do  not  usually  carry  with 
them  many  of  their  own  women,  but  on  the  other 
hand,  if  the  invasion  is  successful,  many  female  captives 
fall  into  their  hands.  In  the  matter  of  language  it  is 
the  female  element  which  counts,  since  the  children 
naturally  grow  up  speaking  the  tongue  of  their  mothers. 
We  know  that  in  historical  times  the  frequent  wars 
between  the  Moluche,  Huilliche,  Puenche  and  others 
were  almost  invariably  caused  by  their  custom  of  seek- 
ing wives  outside  the  tribe.  For  this  reason  it  is  prob- 
able that  large  numbers  of  the  women  of  the  original 
Araucanians  were  captured  by  the  more  warlike  in- 
truders, and  thus  their  language  spread,  surviving  the 
race  which  had  given  it  birth. 

South  of  the  Rio  Negro,  in  the  Patagonian  plateau, 
the  ethnology  is  far  more  simple.  Here,  at  the  time 
of  the  discovery,  wandered  small  groups  of  nomad 
hunters,  a  tall  round-headed  race,  known  as  Tehuelche. 
This  people  may  be  related  to  the  Pampas  tribes, 
though  in  many  respects  they  stood  on  a  lower  plane 
of  culture.  In  fact  one  of  their  tribes  which  must  have 


242  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

crossed  in  early  times  to  Fuegia,  the  Ona,  were  found 
living  under  conditions  nearly  as  primitive  as  the  Ala- 
caluf.  Some  intermingling  seems  to  have  taken  place 
between  these  Ona  and  the  aborigines  of  Fuegia,  since 
the  former  differ  from  the  Tehuelche  proper  in  being 
longer-headed. 

Thus  we  find  present  among  the  population  of  this 
area  at  the  time  of  the  discovery  the  two  elements, 
long-  and  broad-headed,  which  have  been  discovered  in 
the  prehistoric  graves.  The  former  of  these  is  prob- 
ably represented  by  the  Fuegians,  the  vanished  (earliest) 
population  of  the  Chilean  coast,  and  the  more  advanced 
Puenche,  while  the  Tehuelche  and  the  Puelche  tribes 
may  be  the  descendants  of  the  early  broad-heads,  who 
amidst  the  healthy  surroundings  of  the  Patagonian 
plains  and  Pampas  developed  in  stature  far  beyond 
their  first  ancestors.  The  comparatively  short  Arau- 
canian  may  be  an  offshoot  of  the  broad-headed  Andean 
race  with  which  we  have  hitherto  been  dealing. 

The  arrival  of  the  white  man,  as  usual,  was  the  cause 
of  considerable  ethnic  disturbance.  In  the  province 
of  Buenos  Aires  the  Querandies,  a  people  apparently 
allied  to  the  tribes  of  the  Pampas,  rapidly  became  ex- 
tinct ;  various  Puelche  drifted  across  and  occupied  the 
region  formerly  occupied  by  them,  and  were  followed 
later  by  Araucanians.  The  nomadic  population  was 
eventually  driven  across  the  Rio  Negro,  where  it  occu- 
pied a  portion  of  Tehuelche  territory,  driving  the  Tehu- 
elche further  south.  In  the  west  a  magnificent  struggle 
for  independence  was  made  by  the  Araucanian-speaking 
nomads,  who,  we  have  seen,  were  for  the  most  part  of 
Pampean  origin.  For  over  a  century  a  guerilla  war  was 
maintained,  which  proved  very  disastrous  to  the  Spani- 
ards, and  which  forms  the  theme  of  Ercilla's  great  epic. 
Even  in  the  end  they  remained  unconquered  by  force  of 
arms,  and  their  independence  within  the  Moluche  dis- 
trict was  recognized  by  treaty.   Since  that  time  they  have 


SOUTHERN  ANDES  AND  PLAINS    243 

gradually  become  merged  in  the  rest  of  the  Chilean  popu- 
lation. Thus  the  distinction  of  resisting  with  success 
the  arms  of  the  white  man  belongs  alone  to  one  of  the 
less  cultured  peoples  of  America,  and  though  they  were 
Araucanian  in  speech,  yet,  it  must  be  remembered,  the 
spirit  which  animated  them  was  the  spirit  of  their 
Pampean  ancestors. 

The  social  system  of  the  peoples  of  this  region  affords 
a  remarkable  contrast  to  that  of  the,  almost,  over-regu- 
lated country  over  which  the  Inca  ruled.  Though  in  the 
main  patriarchal,  as  is  usual  among  nomadic  peoples,  its 
leading  features  were  individual  freedom  and  equality. 
The  Araucanians,  at  any  rate  in  historical  times,  were 
led  by  four  independent  chiefs,  whose  authority  was 
based  upon  the  fact  that  they  were  the  leaders  in  war. 
Each  of  these  was  supported  by  five  Ulmen,  or  district 
chiefs,  who  acted  as  council  and  who  regulated  the  affairs 
of  the  tribe,  though  their  decisions  had  to  be  ratified  by 
popular  assent.  In  the  case  of  injury  to  an  individual 
the  right  of  private  revenge  was  recognized,  and  this  fact 
limited  the  powers  of  the  chiefs.  It  is  highly  probable 
that  in  former  days  a  looser  form  of  organization  pre- 
vailed, and  that  in  later  times,  owing  to  the  protracted 
struggle  with  the  Spaniards,  the  power  of  the  leaders 
became  consolidated  by  use.  But  it  never  in  any  way 
approached  absolutism,  custom  was  the  real  ruler,  and 
what  authority  the  Ulmen  possessed  was  vested  in  them 
as  the  repositories  of  customary  law.  Chiefs  were  called 
Toki^  and,  as  the  word  itself  implies,  carried  a  stone  axe 
of  particular  shape.  Stone  objects  (Fig.  3 1,  «)  of  a  re- 
markable type  discovered  within  a  comparatively  small 
area,  consisting  of  the  Andean  region  of  south  Men- 
doza,  Neuquen  and  the  neighbouring  part  of  Chile,  have 
been  thought  to  be  the  ceremonial  axes  of  chiefs.  This 
may  be  so,  but  it  seems  unlikely  that  they  are  to  be  con- 
nected with  the  Araucanian-speaking  population  found 
by  the  Spaniards ;  the  form  is  so  peculiar  that  some  notice 


244  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

would  probably  have  been  taken  of  it  by  the  earlychroni- 
clers.  The  inference  is  that  they  became  obsolete  in  pre- 
Spanish  times,  but  so  few  have  been  found,  and  in  so 
small  an  area,  that  it  seems  at  present  unprofitable  to  dis- 
cuss their  origin. 

Among  the  tribes  of  the  Pampas  and  the  Tehuelche, 
a  similar  social  structure  prevailed,  and,  though  here  too 
the  heads  of  family  groups  exercised  little  power,  they 
possessed  nevertheless  more  authority  than  among  the 
Araucanians.  This  was  especially  the  case  among  the 
Tehuelche,  of  whose  leading  characteristics  that  of  filial 
affection  is  particularly  noticed  by  early  travellers.  The 
families  of  this  people  were  grouped  in  clans,  and  some 
have  suspected  the  presence  of  totemism  from  the  exist- 
ence of  a  legend  that  one  clan  once  made  war  upon 
another  because  the  latter  had  eaten  a  rhea.  However, 
the  cause  of  offence  may  have  been  simply  an  infringe- 
ment of  hunting-rights,  or  trespass.  The  rank  of  clan- 
chief  was  hereditary,  one  of  the  sons  of  the  deceased  chief 
being  chosen  to  fill  his  father's  post.  Among  the  Arau- 
canians marriage  by  capture,  real  or  simulated,  was  the 
rule,  among  the  Tehuelche  and  Pampas  tribes,  marriage 
by  purchase.  Among  the  second  at  least  no  man  was 
allowed  to  marry  until  he  had  given  proof  of  his  prowess 
in  war  and  the  chase.  The  Araucanians  sought  their 
wives  outside  the  tribe,  but  among  the  Tehuelche  this 
practice  was  rather  the  exception  than  the  rule  except  in 
the  case  of  the  chief. 

Comparatively  little  is  known  of  the  religion  of  this 
area,  but  the  information  which  exists  appears  to  point 
to  a  worship  of  the  powers  of  nature.  The  Araucanians 
adored,a  god  named  Pillan,  who  had  his  dwelling  in  the 
Andes  and  manifested  himself  in  the  fire  and  smoke  of 
volcanoes,  in  lightning  and  thunder  ;  to  him  they  made 
supplication  in  times  of  war  and  rejoicing,  performing 
ceremonies  of  an  elaborate  nature.  They  also  believed 
in  a  variety  of  subordinate  spirits  good  and  evil.     The 


SOUTHERN   ANDES  AND   PLAINS   245 

Tehuelche  seem  to  have  reverenced  a  supreme  god  whom 
they  invoked  on  hill-tops,  but  they  also  practised  a  cult 
of  certain  animal-shaped  deities,  who  were  supposed  to 
inhabit  caverns  near  particular  lakes  and  mountains. 
These  lesser  deities  were  believed  to  have  created  and 
instructed  men,  and  were  probably  clan-gods.  Both 
Araucaniansand  Tehuelcheemployedthe  servicesof  pro- 
fessional shamanistic  priests,  whose  duties  were  princi- 
pally medical.  Their  method  of  treatment  was  more 
vigorous  than  scientific,  and  consisted  in  continual  sing- 
ing of  charms  and  sounding  of  rattles,  varied  by  suction 
applied  to  the  seat  of  pain.  The  Tehuelche  do  not  seem 
to  have  regarded  them  with  very  great  awe,  and  a  shaman 
who  was  believed  to  have  caused  the  death  of  a  tribesman 
was  immediately  killed.  Priests  in  Patagonia  might  be 
of  either  sex,  but  were  generally  women. 

Throughout  the  whole  region,  simple  burial  seems  to 
have  been  the  universal  method  of  disposing  of  the  dead, 
but,  especially  in  Patagonia,  a  considerable  variety  of 
graves  has  been  observed.  The  most  common  is  a  sim- 
ple excavation  in  which  the  body  is  laid  in  a  contracted 
position,  and  a  cairn  of  stones  piled  on  the  top  ;  such 
cairns  are  both  circular,  and  elliptical  with  a  stone  set  on 
end  at  either  extremity,  and  sometimes  show  signs  of 
having  been  coloured  red.  Around  lakes  Colhue  and 
Musters  these  cairns  are  common  ;  the  stones  have  been 
heaped  over  the  body,  and  hardly  any  excavation  has 
been  made  in  the  ground  for  the  reception  of  the  latter. 
Here  the  corpse  was  usually  arranged  in  a  contracted 
position,  lying  on  its  side  facing  the  east.  In  this  locality 
no  manufactured  objects  have  been  found  associated 
with  the  burials,  except  one  stone  pipe,  which  was  dis- 
covered in  a  grave  surrounded  by  four  others,  placed  one 
at  each  corner.  Bones  of  the  Patagonian  hare  have  been 
found  in  the  cairns,  and  may  be  the  remains  of  funeral 
feasts.  All  these  graves  occur  in  spots  affording  a  good 
view  of  one  of  the  lakes,  and  some  have  interpreted  this 


246  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

fact  as  an  indication  that  these  sheets  of  water  were  re- 
garded as  sacred.  No  remains  of  the  horse  have  been 
found  in  these  graves.  In  the  Gallegos  basin  natural 
caverns  have  been  utilized  as  burial-places,  while  advan- 
tage has  been  taken  of  natural  crevices  in  the  soil  in  the 
neighbourhoods  respectively  of  Cape  Blanco  and  Lake 
Colhue.  On  the  coast  the  body  is  simply  laid  in  the  sand. 
The  most  elaborate  form  occurs  on  the  upper  Deseado, 
where  the  remains  of  several  individuals  are  found  with- 
in a  circle  of  stones.  Except  in  the  case  of  the  graves 
around  lakes  Colhue  and  Musters  the  implements  of  the 
dead  were  always  laid  with  him  among  the  nomadic 
tribes,  and,  in  later  times  of  course,  his  horse  was  sacri- 
ficed above  his  grave  ;  in  Patagonia  traces  of  what  may 
be  child-sacrifice  have  been  found.  The  Tehuelche  be- 
lieved that  the  souls  of  the  dead  were  born  again.  The 
primitive  tribes  which  fringed  the  coast  buried  their  dead 
extended  at  full  length,  the  men  apart  from  the  women  : 
provisions  and  the  various  possessions  of  the  deceased 
were  placed  in  the  grave. 

As  before  indicated,  the  population  of  this  region 
derived  its  sustenance  principally  from  hunting.  The 
primitive  coastal  tribes  collected  shell-fish,  caught  fish 
and  other  marine  animals  by  the  aid  of  rude  canoes,  and 
shot  sea-birds  with  bows  and  arrows.  The  Araucanians, 
the  tribes  of  the  Pampas  and  the  Patagonians,  pursued 
the  huanaco  and  rhea,  but  though  bows,  and  arrows  with 
stone  heads,  were  common  to  all,  the  Puelche  tribes  were 
distinguished  by  the  use  of  the  bolas.  This  weapon  con- 
sisted of  a  stone  fastened  to  one  end  of  a  cord  of  twisted 
hide,  to  the  other  end  of  which  was  attached  a  smaller 
stone  ;  the  latter  was  held  in  the  hand,  while  the  first 
was  whirled  around  the  head,  and  the  whole  launched  at 
the  quarry  so  as  to  entangle  it  and  prevent  escape.  The 
bola-stones,  of  which  numbers  have  been  found,  are 
well-made  and  beautifully  symmetrical  ;  the  larger,  or 
bola  proper,  may  be  one  of  several  types,  spherical  or 


SOUTHERN  ANDES  AND  PLAINS   247 

ovoid  with  an  encircling  groove  round  which  was  fast- 
ened the  cord  (Fig.  31,  f),  or  furnished  with  rounded 
bosses  separated  by  grooves  which  give  the  implement 
a  somewhat  cubical  outline  (Fig.  31,  <5).  The  smaller 
stones  for  holding  in  the  hand  are  also  of  more  than 
one  pattern — both  bi-conical  and  spherical  examples 
have  been  found  —  but  their  method  of  attachment 
was  different,  since  they  were  enclosed  in  a  small  hide 


Fig.  31. — a  stone  "axe";  Chilian,  Chile. 

b  and  c  bola-stones  ;  lower  Chubut  R.         d  stone  axe,  Chuhut. 

(a,  i,  after  Lehmann-Nitsche  ;  ^,  f  ;  c,  ^  ;  d,\;  after  Outes.) 

bag  to  which  the  cord  was  fastened.  They  are  also  fre- 
quently furnished  with  a  small  depression  in  which 
the  knot  of  the  cord  fitted.  The  appliance  was  one 
which,  owing  to  its  utility,  was  bound  to  be  borrowed 
by  the  peoples  who  came  in  contact  with  the  Puelche, 
and  isolated  finds  of  bola-stones  have  been  made  as 
far  north  as  Jujuy,  as  far  south  as  the  Chubut,  and 
also  in  Chile  ;  but  it  is  known  that  the  Chileans 
were  not  using  it  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest, 
and  there  is  no  mention  of  it  among  the  Tehuelche 
before  1776 ;  in  both  cases  therefore  its  presence  must 


248  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

be  due  to  late  Puelche  influence.  As  regards  the  types 
of  arrow-heads  an  elaborate  study  has  been  made  of 
these  and  other  stone  implements  by  Outes,  with  the 
result  that  he  has  established  the  existence  of  a  close 
similarity  throughout  the  Tehuelche  and  Puelche  areas ; 
the  remains  of  the  Chubut  valley,  the  lower  Negro  basin 
and  the  southern  portion  of  Mendoza  and  the  neigh- 
bouring provinces  being  especially  closely  akin.  A  dif- 
ference exists  between  the  arrow-heads  of  this  area  and 
those  of  Chile  ;  by  far  the  larger  proportion  of  the  for- 
mer are  furnished  with  a  tang  by  which  to  secure  them  to 
the  shaft  (Fig.  3  2, «),  whereas  the  latter  have  no  tang(Fig. 
32,  i*  and  c).  The  triangular  form  is  the  most  common, 
and,  at  least  in  Patagonia,  arrow-heads  of  bone  were  also 
in  common  use.  As  remarked  above  there  is  reason  to 
believe  that  the  original  Araucanians  practised  a  rude 
form  of  agriculture,  whereas  the  tribes  of  the  Pampas 
were  purely  hunters  ;  the  use  of  maize  however  was 
known  to  the  Araucanian-speaking  nomads,  and  meal 
and  chicha  were  prepared  from  it.  Agriculture  was  also 
practised  in  isolated  parts  of  the  island  of  Chiloe,  where 
sharpened  stakes  were  used  for  digging.  The  Queran- 
dies  of  Buenos  Aires  province  indulged  in  a  little  cul- 
tivation, and  also  the  Tehuelche,  though  to  a  very 
slight  extent.  The  Patagonians  usually  ground  their 
grain  on  a  flat  stone,  with  the  aid  of  a  rude  pestle, 
but  regular  mortars  have  been  found  in  Chile,  on 
the  Rio  Negro,  in  Buenos  Aires  and  on  the  Chubut. 
Whether  the  perforated  stones  which  are  so  character- 
istic of  Chile  were  used  as  the  weights  for  digging- 
sticks  is  uncertain,  since  many  of  them  seem  too  light 
for  the  purpose.  A  few  of  these  objects  have  been  dis- 
covered in  Patagonia,  and  in  the  Andean  region  of 
Santa  Cruz,  but  they  were  almost  certainly  brought  from 
Chile.  It  is  quite  possible  that  they  were  club-heads, 
similar  to  the  more  elaborate  specimens  from  Peru  and 
Ecuador. 


SOUTHERN  ANDES  AND  PLAINS   249 

Besides  hunting,  the  pursuit  which  was  the  mainstay 
of  their  existence,  the  nomad  Puenche  also  played  the 
part  of  traders  in  salt  and  textiles.  Their  wanderings 
took  them  far  afield,  and,  at  any  rate  in  later  times, 
bodies  of  them  penetrated  to  the  Atlantic  shore  and  the 
Straits  of  Magellan.  In  their  trading  operations  they 
played,  of  course,  the  part  of  middlemen,  obtaining 
their  wares  from  their  more  settled  Araucanian  neigh- 
bours ;  it  seems  likely  that  this  commerce  is  of  com- 
paratively late  origin.  Fire  was  produced  by  all  the 
tribes  north  of  Fuegia  by  the  friction  of  two  pieces  of 
wood,  one  of  which  was  used  as  a  drill  upon  the  other. 
In  the  treeless  parts  of  Tierra  del  Fuego  sparks  were 
struck  from  two  lumps  of  pyrites. 

The  Araucanian  nomads  were  a  very  warlike  people, 
as  the  Spaniards  found  to  their  cost,  and  it  is  safe  to 
infer  that,  before  they  were  forced  to  combine  against 
a  common  foe,  inter-tribal  combats  were  very  frequent. 
War  was  decided  by  the  council  of  Ulmen,  and  the 
chief  summoned  the  warriors  by  sending  round  an 
arrow  dipped  in  blood,  or,  according  to  some,  a  blood- 
stained axe  and  arrow.  The  Tehuelche  were  a  less 
quarrelsome  and  revengeful  people,  and  though  their 
habit  of  abandoning  the  aged  and  useless  members  when 
the  tribe  changed  its  residence  seems  cruel,  yet  in  cir- 
cumstances such  as  theirs  the  presence  of  the  unfit  was 
a  public  danger,  and  their  reputation  for  hospitality 
would  seem  to  prove  that  such  a  custom  was  imposed 
upon  them  by  necessity.  Yet  wars  between  the  clans 
were  not  infrequent,if  we  may  judge  from  the  numerous 
traces  of  battlefields  which  are  found  in  their  country. 
The  arms  of  the  chase  were  used  in  war,  the  bow  and  the 
bolas,  and  also  spears ;  though  among  the  Tehuelche  the 
last-named  appear  to  have  been  borne  by  chiefs  rather 
as  insignia  than  as  weapons.  This  people  carried  their  ar- 
rows arranged  in  a  sort  of  crest  in  their  head-bands,  and 
also  used  defensive  armour  in  the  shape  of  hide  cuir- 


250  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

asses,  but  the  latter  practice  is  not  earlier  than  the  eigh- 
teenth century.  The  Querandies  of  Buenos  Aires,  at 
any  rate  in  their  wars  with  the  Spaniards,  employed  ar- 
rows armed  with  burning  grass.  Textile  garments  were 
manufactured  in  Araucanian  territory,  and  also  by  the 
Querandies,  but  the  true  nomads  clad  themselves  in 
skins,  though  the  Patagonians  wove  narrow  head-bands. 
In  the  north  their  clothing  was  of  a  limited  description, 
but  the  Tehuelche,  especially  the  women,  were  more 
fully  clad  in  apron  and  cloak.  Bone  necklets  and  shell 
beads  were  worn  as  ornaments  ;  the  Tehuelche  used 
ostrich  feathers  for  personal  embellishment,and,  locally, 
nose-pins  and  lip-ornaments.  Silver  pins  and  ear-orna- 
ments, so  common  in  later  times,  appear  to  have  been 
introduced  among  the  Tehuelche  by  the  Puelche.  A 
stone  ring,  found  in  a  Tehuelche  grave,  appears  to  have 
been  a  breast -ornament.  Foot-gear  of  sewn  hide 
was  worn  in  Patagonia,  and  paint  was  applied  to  the 
body  as  ornament  both  here  and  in  Chile.  A  distinc- 
tion is  seen  in  the  character  of  the  habitations  con- 
structed respectively  by  the  more  sedentary  and  by  the 
nomadic  peoples.  Where  agriculture  was  practised  in 
Chile,  small  huts  were  built ;  elsewhere  hide  tents  were 
erected.  Those  of  the  Tehuelche  were  large,  of  huanaco- 
skins  stretched  on  a  wooden  framework  ;  they  were  di- 
vided into  compartments  by  means  of  screens,  and  one 
such  dwelling  sheltered  a  number  of  families.  Caves 
also  were  inhabited  in  the  region  of  the  Gallegos  valley 
and  the  upper  Deseado. 

As  might  be  expected  in  an  area  inhabited  for  the 
most  part  by  nomadic  tribes,  there  are  few  manufactures 
to  chronicle.  TheweavingoftheAraucanianshas already 
been  mentioned ;  very  rude  pottery  was  made  in  Chile 
and  also  in  Patagonia,  but  not  in  Fuegia  or,  apparently, 
by  the  Puelche,  though  fragments  of  coarse  vases  with 
impressed  geometrical  ornament  (such  as  Fig.  34)  have 
been  found  in  the  territory  of  the  extinct  Querandies. 


SOUTHERN  ANDES  AND  PLAINS   251 

By  far  the  largest  and  most  important  class  of  remains 
isconstituted  by  the  stone  implements, concerning  which 
a  few  words  must  now  be  said.  The  implements  of 
palaeolithic  type  have  already  been  mentioned  ;  these 
consist  of  knives  of  various  shapes,  oval,  lanceolate  and 
asymmetrical  (Fig.  32,  /),  furnished  with  an  edge  all 
round,  which  in  some  cases  shows  traces  of  secondary 


Fig.  32. — a,  d-l,  Patagonia  ;  b  and  f,  Taltal  (Chilean  coast,  about  25°  S.); 
;«,  modern  glass  scraper,  mounted  ;  Punta  Arenas,  Patagonia. 
(Scale,  a-l,  ^^  ;  vi,  \',  d,  e,  g,  /i,  after  Outes  ;  rest  British  Museum.) 

flaking.  Nearly  all  are  surface  finds  except  at  Observa- 
cion,  near  cape  Blanco,  where  they  occur  at  some  depth. 
Finds  of  similar  implements  have  been  made  at  Tandil, 
Lobos  and  Bahia  Blanca  in  the  province  of  Buenos 
Aires.  The  implements  of  neolithic  type  are  all  found 
on  the  surface,  and  were  in  use  at  the  time  of  the  dis- 
covery. As  regards  material  the  primitive  stone-worker 
seems  to  have  shown  a  preference  for  silicious  rocks  ; 
obsidian  implements  are  found  but  are  not  common. 


252  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

"Factories"  have  been  discovered  in  the  Sierras  Colora- 
das,a  range  of  hills  near  and  parallel  to  the  coast  between 
the  Rio  Seco  and  the  Rio  Deseado,  and  it  would  seem, 
from  a  study  of  the  remains  here,  that  the  implements 
were  rough-hewn  on  the  spot  and  taken  away  to  be 
finished  at  leisure.  The  ruder,  and  probably  earlier, 
specimens  were  shaped  by  direct  percussion,  the  finer  by 
indirect  percussion  or  pressure  with  some  primiti  vetool, 
just  as  the  Fuegians  at  the  present  time  fashion  delicate 
arrow-heads  of  glass  by  pressure  with  a  bone.  Thanks 
to  the  labours  of  Outes,  more  can  be  said  of  the  imple- 
ments of  Patagonia  than  of  any  other  part  of  this  area, 
but  even  in  Patagonia  thereare  large  tracts  of  which  very 
little  is  known,  such  as  the  region  between  the  valley  of 
the  Rio  Negro  and  that  of  the  Chubut,  and  again  south 
of  the  Santa  Cruz.  Up  to  the  present,  the  richest  sites 
have  been  discovered  in  the  valleys  of  these  two  rivers 
and  in  the  neighbourhood  of  lakes  Colhue  and  Musters. 
A  certain  amount  of  research  has  also  been  carried  on  in 
the  provinces  of  Buenos  Aires  and  Mendoza. 

The  finds  in  general  consist  of  objects  of  a  type 
familiar  to  students  of  prehistoric  archaeology.  Small 
"scrapers"  (Fig.  32,  ^  and  g),  worked  along  the  edges, 
were  probably  used  in  the  preparation  of  hides;  they 
were  no  doubt  fixed  in  a  haft  in  the  same  manner  as  in 
historical  times  (Fig.  32,  m).  "Perforators"  of  various 
patterns  (Fig.  3 2,  <^  and  /^)  are  not  very  common,  though 
they  have  been  found  in  Patagonia  and  in  southern 
Mendoza  and  were  probably  employed  for  making  holes 
in  hides  through  which  to  passthongs — a  primitive  form 
of  sewing.  Knives  (Fig.  32,  /^),  varying  in  quality  from 
simple  flakes  with  retouched  edges  to  shapely  blades 
worked  all  over,  are  found  in  considerable  quantities 
from  the  Santa  Cruz  to  Mendoza  ;  arrow-heads  have 
already  been  mentioned  above,  as  well  as  thebola-stones, 
characteristic  of  the  Puelche  region,  and  the  perforated 
stones  which  are  in  the  main  confined  to  Chile.     Axes 


SOUTHERN  ANDES  AND  PLAINS   253 

seem  to  be  characteristic  of  Chile  and  Patagonia,  though 
in  the  latter  region  they  are  rare.  The  Chilean  type  is 
oval  in  section,  narrowing  towards  the  butt,  sometimes 
regularly,  sometimes  somewhat  abruptly.  The  most 
interesting  of  the  Patagonian  forms  is  an  implement  with 
a  curious  abrupt  constriction  at  the  centre  (Fig.  31,  d). 
Like  all  Patagonian  axes,^  the  majority  come  from  the 
lower  Chubut  valley,  the  rest  from  the  lower  Negro. 
Some  of  them  are  ornamented  with  shallow  engraving, 
and  they  were  probably  hafted  by  bending  a  pliant  branch 
round  the  "waist"  of  the  implement  and  securing  the 
ends  with  a  lashing.  In  spite  of  the  fact  that  this  type 
is  confined  to  a  comparatively  small  region  of  Patagonia, 
its  peculiarity  has  led  some  students  to  suppose  that  it 
must  be  referred  to  some  intrusive  influence  ;if  this  be  so, 
that  influence  would  probably  be  Puelche.  In  any  case 
none  of  the  specimens  show  signs  of  wear  and  were 
probably  carried  as  insignia  or  reserved  for  ceremonial 
use.  The  remarkable  bird-headed  axes  from  south  Men- 
doza  and  the  neighbouring  region  of  Chile  have  been 
described  above.  Other  objects  which  may  be  mentioned 
are  stone  pipes  of  Puelche  pattern  from  the  lower  Chu- 
but; spindle-whorls  from  the  Rio  Negro,  Chubut  and 
Santa  Cruz,  and  peculiar  engraved  stone  tablets  which 
are  found  over  a  more  extended  area  from  the  Rio  Negro 
to  the  Santa  Cruz,  and  from  the  great  lakes  to  the  sea.  An 
engraved  pebble  has  been  found  at  San  Bias  nearViedma 
in  the  province  of  Buenos  Aires.  In  the  same  province, 
it  may  be  noted,  close  toCorrientes  implements  of  a  very 
rude  class  have  been  found.  These  are  plain  oval  pebbles 
from  one  end  of  which  a  few  flakes  have  been  removed 
so  as  to  give  them  a  rough  edge.  From  their  appearance 
they  might  date  from  the  very  earliest  times,  but  they 

^  An  aberrant  type  of  axe  has  been  found  near  lake  Nahuel-Huape  on 
a  tributary  of  the  upper  Negro  ;  this  has  two  projections  at  the  butt 
similar  to  the  axes  found  in  the  Andean  region  from  the  Calchaqui  area 
to  Ecuador  (e.g.  Fig.  4,  k). 


254  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

have  been  found  only  in  the  most  recent  stratum  on  the 
surface  and  cannot  therefore  be  of  any  antiquity.  We 
may  summarize  shortly  as  follows.  Flaked  implements 
of  palaeolithic  type  have  been  discovered  in  Patagonia 
and  Buenos  Aires  ;  while  those  of  neolithic  type  are 
common  to  the  whole  area.  The  remains  of  the  region 
between  the  Santa  Cruz  and  the  southern  plains  of  Men- 
doza,  including  the  southern  corner  of  Buenos  Aires, 
show  remarkable  similarity.  Implements  of  polished 
stone  seem  to  be  of  late  introduction  into  Patagonia  and 
in  many  cases  show  Puelche  influence  ;  a  close  connec- 
tion seems  to  exist  between  the  lower  Negro  and  lower 
Chubut  in  this  respect,  and  from  this  fact  Outes  sup- 
poses that  the  latter  region  was  occupied,  at  least  tem- 
porarily, by  a  group  of  nomads  who  made  a  razzia  from 
the  north  and  became  isolated  there. 


CHAPTER  XII— EAST  AND  CENTRAL 
SOUTH  AMERICA 

IT  may  appear  absurd  to  attempt  to  deal  comprehen- 
sively  with  this  vast  area,  comprising  Brazil,  Uru- 
guay, Paraguay  and  the  provinces  of  Argentina  confined 
between  the  rivers  Uruguay  and  Parana, an  area  equal  in 
extent  to  one-half  the  South  American  continent,  but 
there  are  several  reasons  why  such  a  course  is  advisable. 
Though  very  little  is  known  of  the  archaeology  of  the 
region  in  proportion  to  its  enormous  size,  yet  the  re- 
searches made  seem  to  point  to  a  culture  which  is  fairly 
homogeneous,belonging  toalowevolutionarystage,and 
of  no  great  antiquity.  This  homogeneity  extends  also  to 
the  geography  of  the  area  in  question.  That  area  consists 
of  the  highlands  of  the  south  and  east  of  Brazil,  which 
extend  also  into  Paraguay  and  Uruguay,  and  the  low 
plains  which  surround  them,  and  which  formed  in  very 
early  times  the  bed  of  the  great  inland  sea  separating 
these  highlands  from  the  Andes  (including  at  a  later 
date  the  Patagonian  plateau)  and  the  highlands  of 
Guiana.  Nowhere  were  the  physical  conditions  favour- 
able to  the  development  of  an  advanced  culture  ;  the 
low-lying  country  to  the  north  and  north-west,  drained 
by  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries,  is  covered  with  a 
vast  forest  so  luxuriant  as  to  exclude  both  light  and  air  ; 
while  that  to  the  south-east  is  liable  to  periodical  floods, 
when  the  rise  of  the  Parana  and  Uruguay  transform  the 
country  for  miles  into  the  semblance  of  a  vast  lake.  The 
northern  forest  extends  down  the  eastern  coast,  and 
even  the  higher  ground  of  the  coastal  provinces  of 
Brazil,  at  any  rate  in  former  times,  was  thickly  wooded, 

255 


256  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

with  the  exception  of  Ceara,  which  is  subject  to  long- 
continued  periods  of  drought.  In  the  central  uplands 
grassy  country  exists,  but  the  soil  is  not  very  fertile. 
Except  for  the  llama  and  its  congeners,  found  only  in 
the  Andes,  South  America  possessed  no  animal  the  care 
of  which  could  give  rise  to  a  pastoral  population,  and 
the  llama  is  not  found  in  Brazil.  In  Uruguay,  where 
the  high  country  gradually  loses  itself  in  the  plain,  roll- 
ing grass-country  is  found,  and  here  the  early  explorers 
discovered  a  nomad  population  of  hunters,  similar  in 
mode  of  life  and  in  character  to  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Pampas. 

The  classification  of  the  primitive  tribes  which 
peopled  this  region  is  not,  and  can  hardly  be,  complete  ; 
many  of  them  disappeared  soon  after  their  discovery ; 
and  very  little  is  known  of  the  rest.  In  any  case  no  at- 
tempt to  group  them  according  to  physical  characters 
has  yet  been  successful, and  ethnologists  have  been  com- 
pelled to  fall  back  upon  language  as  a  determining  fac- 
tor. According  to  this  criterion,  four  main  groups  of 
tribes  can  be  distinguished  :  the  Carib,  whose  original 
home  appears  to  have  been  the  upper  Xingu,  and  who 
have  spread  thence  over  Guiana  and  the  lesser  Antilles  ; 
the  Arawak,  who  appear  to  have  originated  in  the  north, 
and  to  have  occupied  gradually  the  Orinoco  and  Amazon 
basins  ;  the  Tupi-Guarani,  who,  starting  probably  from 
some  point  in  the  west  or  southern  centre  of  this  area, 
seem  to  have  gradually  worked  down  to  the  estuary  of 
La  Plata,  and  thence  up  the  coast  to  the  Amazon  and 
even  beyond  ;  and  finally  the  Ges,  who  were  the  ab- 
origines of  the  plateau  district.  The  various  and  ex- 
tended migrations  of  these  peoples  have  rendered  the 
distribution  of  their  various  tribes  extremely  complex, 
and  it  is  difficult  to  point  out  an  area  of  any  size  which 
is  inhabited  by  one  of  them  alone.  In  the  main,  the 
Carib  and  Arawak  occupy  the  Amazon  and  Orinoco 
plains,  the  Tupi-Guarani  and  Ges  the  rest  of  the  region. 


EAST  ©"CENTRAL  SOUTH  AMERICA  257 

It  is  to  some  extent  doubtful  how  far  the  remains 
which  are  scattered  over  this  huge  area  should  be  in- 
cluded in  the  purview  of  archaeology  proper.  In  so  far  as 
they  represent  a  form  of  culture  which  has  for  the  most 
part  disappeared  before  the  advance  of  white  settlers, 
they  stand  on  the  same  footing  as  those  of  the  Andean 
region  ;  but  the  process  of  extinction  has  not  proceeded 
so  far,  and  there  exist  still  many  tribes  living  under 
conditions  very  similar  to  those  of  early  times.    Even 
in  the  localities  from  which  the  aborigines  have  vanished 
there  are  indications  that  their  old  habits  were  not  aban- 
doned so  hurriedly,  and  there  is  little  or  no  evidence 
to  show  that  their  remains  are  of  any  degree  of  antiquity, 
except  in  one  case.  The  exception  occurs  in  the  province 
of  Minas  Geraes,  where,  at  Lagoa  Santa,  a  number  of 
human  remains  were  discovered  which  were  associated 
with  the  bones  of  extinct  mammalia  usually  regarded  as 
typical  of  the  pleistocene  period.  The  human  skulls  which 
were  there  found  have  been  shown  to  stand  in  relation 
both  to  those  of  the  more  primitive  tribes  of  the  Ges 
family,  and  to  those  found  buried  in  some  of  the  shell- 
mounds  of  the  coast.    The  question  of  these  shell- 
mounds,  usually  known  as  sambaqui^  has  afforded  some 
difficulty,and  the  question  of  their  origin, and  that  of  the 
remains  found  in  them,  cannot  yet  be  regarded  as  abso- 
lutely settled.     Investigations,  except  in  a  few  cases, 
have  not  been  carried  out  with  sufficient  exactness,  and 
details  as  to  the  exact  position  of  the  various  finds  are 
for  the  most  part  wanting.    These  shell-mounds  are 
found  scattered  along  the  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Amazon  to  the  most  southern  province  of  Brazil,  as 
well  as  on  the  banks  of  the  lower  Amazon  and  Tocan- 
tins.   It  has  now  been  proved  that  by  no  means  all  of 
them  are  due  to  human  agency,  such  as  the  well-known 
kitchen-middens  of  the   Danish    coast.     The   larger 
mounds,  amounting  in  some  cases  to  over  one  hundred 
thousand  cubic  yards  in  volume,  show  many  strata 


258  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

each  composed  of  a  different  variety  of  shell,  and  it  can- 
not be  supposed  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  shore  con- 
fined themselves  to  a  diet  of  one  species  of  mollusc  for 
many  years  together;  it  has  also  been  shown  that  some 
of  them  occupy  ground  which  was  still  under  water  in 
times  prior  to  the  advent  of  the  white  man.  But  other 
less  enormous  mounds  undoubtedly  occur,  the  com- 
position of  which  proves  their  artificial  origin.  These 
consist  of  shells  mixed  withearth, bones  offish  and  mam- 
mals, charcoal,  and  stone  implements,  as  well  as  remains 
of  human  skeletons.  The  human  remains  are  buried 
simply  and  not  enclosed  in  pots,  a  practice  to  which 
frequent  allusion  will  be  made  later,  and  no  traces  of 
cannibalism  have  been  found.  The  question  as  to  how 
far  pottery  can  be  associated  with  the  primitive  tribes 
of  the  shell-mounds  is  not  easy  to  settle.  As  regards 
the  mounds  of  the  southern  provinces,  competent  ob- 
servers have  stated  that  pottery  has  never  been  dis- 
covered in  their  undisturbed  interior;  for  the  northern 
provinces  exact  information  is  lacking,  and  a  further 
difficulty  has  been  added  by  the  fact  that  the  mounds 
had  been  much  disturbed,  by  those  in  search  of  shells 
from  which  to  manufacture  lime,  before  attention  was 
called  to  their  archaeological  importance.  The  mere  dis- 
covery of  pottery  fragments  on  the  surface  of  a  mound 
is  not  sufficient  to  prove  that  the  tribes  responsible  for 
the  presence  of  the  latter  were  acquainted  with  the  art 
of  working  in  clay,  for  the  pottery  may  be  due  to  later- 
comers.  In  fact  it  is  probable  that  an  invading  people 
of  higher  culture  would  select  convenient  eminences  in 
the  low  country  on  which  to  establish  temporary  settle- 
ments, or  in  which  to  bury  their  dead.  The  discovery 
at  Laguna  in  Santa  Catharina,  on  the  sea-level,  of  re- 
mains of  all  periods,  including  a  fragment  of  telegraph 
insulator,  is  sufficient  to  prove  this.  Fragments  have 
been  found  in  the  surface  earth  of  shell-mounds  on  the 
Amazon  and  Tocantins,  and  these  may  be  placed  in  a 


EAST  (Sf  CENTRAL  SOUTH  AMERICA  259 

similar  category.  They  are  few  and  of  coarse  manufac- 
ture and  in  any  case  could  only  be  associated  with  the 
latest  generations  of  mound-builders  who  might  have 
learnt  the  art  from  more  advanced  neighbours.  But  if  the 


Fig.  33. — Brazil:  a  stone  "  palette  "  ;   Santa  Catharina. 
d  stone  lip-stud  ;  Pernanibuco.  d  steatite  carving  ;  lower  Amazon. 

r  stone  arrow-head  ;  San  Paulo.       c  pottery  "  tanga,"  island  of  Marajo. 

/  stone  axe,  Minas  Geraes.         (Scale,  about  f  ;  a-e  alter  Netto.) 

mound-builders  were  ignorant  of  the  fictile  art  they 
were  admirable  workers  in  stone.  In  the  mounds  of  Santa 
Catharina  have  been  found  numbers  of  small  diorite 
mortars  probably  for  grinding  pigment,  in  the  shape  of 
fish  or  birds  (Fig.  33,  <?),  extremely  well  finished,  and 
unlike  any  other  objects  discovered  in  the  area  under 


26o  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

discussion.  In  San  Paulo,  finds  have  been  made  of 
peculiar  bi-conical  objects  (Fig.  33,  ^),  probably  arrow- 
heads, of  syenite  and  serpentine,  which  show  equal  skill 
in  manufacture.  Besides  these  more  striking  objects, 
stone  axes  are  common,  and  in  the  neighbourhood  of 
many  of  the  mounds  are  grooved  rocks  where  they 
were  polished.  From  such  indications,  then,  as  may  be 
gathered  from  the  method  of  burial,  the  nature  of  the 
human  remains,  the  absence  of  pottery  and  the  excel- 
lence of  the  stone  implements,  the  conclusion  is  not 
unwarranted  that  the  people,  to  whose  presence  these 
remains  bear  silent  testimony,  belonged  to  the  Ges 
family,  whose  best-known  representatives  of  the  present 
day,  the  Botocudo,  are  good  workers  in  stone,  are  ig- 
norant of  pottery,  and  do  not  practise  urn-burial. 

The  shell-mounds  must  be  distinguished  from  the 
many  settlements  of  which  traces  are  found  along  the 
shore,  and  inland  on  the  banks  of  the  rivers  where 
exploration  has  been  most  active,  and  also  from  the 
artificial  mounds  of  earth  unmixed  with  shells  in 
which  native  burials  and  remains  have  so  often  been 
discovered. 

It  is  difficult  to  summarize  results  of  investigations 
made  throughout  the  rest  of  this  huge  area  and  assign 
the  various  shades  of  culture  to  their  proper  authors, 
without  becoming  tedious.  Arguments  based  upon  the 
quality  and  ornament  of  potsherds,  or  the  pattern  of 
stone  implements,  are  apt  to  make  extremely  dull  read- 
ing except  to  the  enthusiast.  Still,  some  picture  must 
be  drawn  of  the  culture  of  the  eastern  portion  of  the 
continent  if  only  to  point  the  contrast  between  the  con- 
ditions prevailing  there  and,  on  the  other  hand,  in  the 
Andes. 

By  far  the  largest  proportion  of  remains  consists  of 
pottery,  and  it  will  be  well  to  start  with  that  of  ruder 
type  and  more  simple  decoration,  which  occurs  in  the 
south,  and  proceed  northwards  to  where,  at  the  mouth 


EAST  Gf  CENTRAL  SOUTH  AMERICA  261 

of  the  Amazon,  the  art  had  risen  to  a  considerably- 
higher  plane. 

In  Entre  Rios  and  Corrientes,  especially  along  the 
banks  of  the  Parana,  in  the  open  country  between  Buenos 
Aires  and  Rosario,  and  in  the  more  thickly  wooded  dis- 
trict from  Rosario  northward,  many  traces  of  aboriginal 
settlements  have  been  discovered  in  the  shape  of  pot- 
tery, stone  arrow-heads  and  mortars,  implements  of 


J3ja 


As 


<  y  ^if  ^^ 


v 


y 


^^ 


f///jmnim 


Fig.  34. — a  head  of  pottery  figurine  ;  island  of  Marajo. 

b        ,,  ,,  ,,        ;  Santarem. 

c  fragment  of  pottery  vase  ;  Parana  delta. 

Below,  impressed  designs  on  pottery  characteristic  of  Buenos  Aires,  Entre 

Rios  and  Corrientes. 

(Scale,  a~c  about  \.     a  and  b  after  Netto  ;  c  after  Torres.) 

bone  and  antler,and  human  remains.  The  pottery  shows 
considerable  homogeneity,  and  from  two  localities  as  far 
apart  as  Campana,  a  little  to  the  south-east  of  Zarate, 
and  Goya,  fragments  which  may  be  taken  as  typical  of 
the  district  have  been  found.  These  are  portions  of 
small  vases,  of  rather  thick  ware,  mixed  with  sand  and 
well  baked,  with  the  heads,  chiefly  of  birds,  in  bold  re- 
lief (Fig.  34,  c).  The  modelling,  if  somewhat  coarse,  is 
vigorous,  and  the  details  are  emphasized  by  impressed 
**  string-patterns."    Traces  of  a  red  slip  are  found  on 


262  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

some  of  these.  Fragments  of  other  vases,  with  similar 
incised  designs,  mainly  rectilinear,  of  dots,  meanders, 
key-patterns,  zigzags  and  series  of  diagonal  lines  (see 
Fig.  34),  are  also  common.  No  great  age  can  be  attribu- 
ted to  these,  since  the  mound  at  Campana,  in  which 
objects  of  this  description  are  found,  rests  upon  alluvial 
soil  of  quite  recent  date,  belonging  to  the  same  formation 
as  the  islands  of  the  delta. 

Further  north,  on  both  banks  of  the  Parana,  in  Mis- 
sionesand  Paraguay,  pots  with  similar  impressed  orna- 
ment have  been  found  ;  and,  though  the  bird  and  animal 
forms  peculiar  to  the  last  district  do  not  occur,  a  finer 
class  of  pottery  appears,  with  impressed  designs  of  a  like 
nature  or  patterns  in  red  and  black  on  a  white  slip.  That 
there  is  no  difference  in  age  between  the  two  styles  is 
evident  from  the  fact  that  representatives  of  both  have 
been  found  enclosed  in  a  large  funerary  urn.  Similar 
painted  and  engraved  pottery  has  been  discovered  in  the 
islands  of  the  Parana  delta.  We  shall  see  that  the  ware 
of  south-eastern  Brazil  also  resembles  thatof  Missiones, 
and  it  must  be  mentioned  that  the  vases  from  ceme- 
teries on  the  right  bank  of  the  Paraguay,  right  up  in 
the  Brazilian  province  of  Matto  Grosso,  and  even  from 
two  burial-places  discovered  by  Boman  in  the  Argentine 
provinces  of  Jujuy  and  Salta,  display  a  similarity  to  the 
funerary  pots  of  the  upper  Parana.  Engraved  ware 
was  also  manufactured  by  the  semi-nomadic  Charrua, 
now  extinct,  of  the  southern  coast  of  Uruguay. 

With  regard  to  the  forms  in  which  the  early  potters 
of  these  districts  made  their  vases,  one  feature  is  con- 
stant, a  rounded  base.  The  commonest  types  are  globu- 
lar or  pyriform,  the  upper  portion  of  the  wall  often 
inclining  inwards  more  or  less  abruptly  to  form  a 
shoulder,  which  is  sometimes  surmounted  by  an  everted 
lip.  As  a  rule  the  burial-urns  are  ornamented  with  rude 
impressed  patterns. 

In  the  southern  provinces  of  Brazil,  pots  with  de- 


EAST  (^CENTRAL  SOUTH  AMERICA  263 

signs,  still  of  a  similar  character,  painted  in  red,  or  less 
often  black,  on  a  white  slip,  become  more  common, 
though  the  engraved  ware  is  still  the  more  frequent ; 
and  in  San  Paulo  painted  decoration  was  sometimes  ap- 
plied to  funerary  urns  also.  The  shapes  are  much  the 


Fig.  35. — Brazil:  pottery  urn;  island  of  Marajo.     (After  Netto.) 

same  as  those  already  described,  with  a  rounded  base, 
though  in  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  a  more  elaborate  type, 
the  outline  of  which  suggests  two  or  more  bowls  super- 
imposed, has  been  found.  In  this  region  more  informa- 
tion can  be  gathered  concerning  the  method  of  manu- 
facture. In  the  last-mentioned  province  the  vases  appear 
to  have  been  formed  by  coiling  long  strips  of  clay  around 


264  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

a  suitably  shaped  stone,  the  coils  being  welded  together 
subsequently,  and  the  exterior  and  interior  surfaces 
carefully  smoothed  with  some  primitive  appliance.  The 
Tapes,  an  extinct  tribe  living  near  the  Lagoa  dos  Patos, 
amongst  others,  employed  this  process,  and,  further, 
fired  their  pots  in  a  hole  in  the  ground  surrounded  with 
stones.  These  Tapes  produced  vases,  both  of  the  painted 
and  engraved  types  found  elsewhere  in  the  southern 
provinces. 

But  for  the  finest  ware  we  must  proceed  further 
north,  to  the  island  of  Marajo  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Amazon.  Here  in  the  islet  of  Pacoval,  which  is  ap- 
parently of  artificial  origin,  situated  in  a  lake,  numbers 
of  vases  and  funerary  urns  have  been  discovered,  while 
similar  finds  have  been  made  on  the  same  island  in  cer- 
tain artificial  mounds  to  the  south-west.  Besides  the 
superior  quality  of  the  pottery,  the  following  are  the  fea- 
tures which  distinguish  it  from  that  already  described. 
The  urns  and  vases  (such  as  Fig.  35)  are  often  made  in 
human  shape  or  are  furnished  with  human  features  on 
the  short  necks  ;  applied  and  moulded  ornament  in  re- 
lief is  common;  most  vases  are  provided  with  a  flat  base; 
designs  are  frequently  engraved  in  the  white  slip  and 
filled  with  pigment ;  the  painted  and  engraved  patterns 
are  in  the  main  conventionalized  representations  of  the 
human  face  (Fig.  36).  The  pots  appear  to  have  been 
made  by  the  coiling  process,  but  are  so  carefully  finished 
that  no  trace  of  the  coils  is  seen  ;  in  the  case  of  the 
numerous  figurines,  however,  they  have  been  observed. 
After  the  vase  had  been  allowed  to  dry,  moulded  orna- 
ments in  the  form  of  grotesque  lizards,  human  figures 
and  faces,  and  the  like  were  added,  and  a  cream-coloured 
slip  was  applied  in  which  delicate  designs  were  en- 
graved. A  painted  design  was  usually  added,  following 
the  engraving  or  applied  details,  if  such  were  present, 
and  the  pot  was  fired  probably  by  the  same  process  as 
that  mentioned  above.  Some  of  the  larger  vases  appear 


EAST  Gf  CENTRAL  SOUTH  AMERICA  265 

to  have  been  made  in  more  than  one  piece.  Other  types 
not  found  in  the  localities  hitherto  described  are  bowls 
with  everted  foot,  and  unornamented  water  bottles  with 
narrow  mouths  (one  somewhat  similar,  however,  has 
been  discovered  in  Missiones).  The  figurines  are  all  very 
similar,  being  represented  in  a  seated  position  with  the 
legs  apart,  and  the  hands  on  the  hips,  under  the  knees, 
or  clasped  beneath  the  chin ;  the  features  are  applied  in 


B 


w 


Fig.  36. — Engraved  designs,  derived  from  the  human  face,  from  pottery 
vases  ;  island  of  Marajo.     (After  Netto. ) 

relief,  and  the  nose  and  eyebrows  are  conjoined.  The 
conical  shape  of  the  heads  (Fig.  34,  a)  almost  suggests 
that  the  inhabitants  practised  some  form  of  deformation, 
but  it  may  represent  the  method  of  dressing  the  hair. 

A  peculiar  class  of  object,  not  found  elsewhere,  is  con- 
stituted by  the  so-called  tangas  (Fig.  33,  <?),  triangular  in 
shape,  and  convex  in  section,  which  are  found  in  the 
burial-urns  of  women.  These  are  furnished  with  three 
small  holes,  as  if  for  suspension,  and  it  has  been  sug- 
gested that  they  are  the  "  translations  "  into  pottery  of 
the  small  triangular  leaf  coverings  worn  by  many  of  the 


266  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

women  of  primitive  Brazilian  tribes  in  historical  times. 
They  are  ornamented  with  especial  care  in  the  same 
style  as  the  vases.  Other  objects  of  pottery  are  engraved 
discs,  sometimes  with  a  cylindrical  handle  at  the  back, 
sometimes  with  a  groove  encircling  the  rim.  The  former 
may  have  been  stamps,  somewhat  similar  to  those  of  the 
Chibcha,  and  the  latter  ear-ornaments. 

Evidently  allied  to  the  inhabitants  of  Marajowere  the 
people  on  the  Ilha  do  Para,  also  in  the  Amazon  delta, 
and  on  the  opposite  northern  bank,  on  the  river  Maraca. 
Here  are  found  natural  grottos,  artificially  enlarged, 
which  have  been  used  as  primitive  mausolea,  and  contain 
burial-urns  in  human  and  animal  shapes.  An  urn  of  the 
former  type,  found  at  Maraca,  represents  a  man  sitting 
on  a  stool  (a  more  elaborate  piece  of  modelling  than 
occurs  on  Marajo),  whose  head  forms  the  cover  to  the 
urn.  Others,  on  Para,  are  furnished  only  with  conven- 
tional human  features  on  the  neck.  These  are  painted, 
the  face  in  yellow,  surrounded  with  a  broad  red  border, 
the  body  of  the  vase  with  white  meanders  on  a  dark 
ground.  A  new  type  consists  in  a  simple  clay  cylinder 
furnished  with  a  cover ;  but  this  class  of  urn  is  evidently 
of  late  date,  since  one  of  them  was  found  to  contain 
Venetian  beads  of  the  sixteenth  century.  On  the  coast 
of  Brazilian  Guiana  are  found  remains  which  may  be  re- 
lated to  those  last  mentioned,  though  the  form  of  burial, 
in  L-shaped  pits,  differs  from  anything  else  reported  of 
this  area.  In  these  graves  were  found  pots  with  similar 
patterns  in  red  on  a  buff  ground. 

More  closely  allied  to  Marajo  are  some  of  the  re- 
mains found  further  up  the  Amazon,  in  the  neighbour- 
hood of  Santarem.  Here  heads  of  figurines  have  been 
found  (Fig.  34,  b)^  similar  to  those  of  Marajo,  though 
more  naturalistic.  Still  further  off,  near  Atures  on  the 
Venezuelan  bank  of  the  Orinoco,  a  cave  was  discovered, 
containing  ovoid  burial-urns  with  lugs  in  the  form 
of  snakes  and  lizards,  and  ornamented  with  painted 


EAST  Gf  CENTRAL  SOUTH  AMERICA  267 

meanders  and  labyrinths.  In  this  locality,  however, 
many  of  the  bones  were  deposited  in  leaf  baskets,  but 
the  description  of  the  pottery  seems  to  point  to  some 
connection  with  Marajo.  Near  Santarem,  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  Itaituba  on  the  Tapajos  and  on  the  banks 
of  the  Rio  Negro,  quantities  of  fragments  have  been 
found,  which  appear,  however,  to  show  greater  affinities 
with  the  pottery  of  southern  Brazil  in  some  respects 
than  that  of  Marajo.  At  the  first  locality  the  vases  were 


Fig.  37. — Brazil:  funerary  urn,  Para.         (Scale,  |.     British  Museum.) 


ornamented  with  thumb-impressions  round  the  rim, 
or  with  designs  painted  on  a  white  slip,  but  none  with 
painted  and  engraved  decoration.  Applied  ornament, 
in  the  form  of  spirals  and  meanders  or  the  figures  of 
men  and  animals,  occurs,  and  must  be  attributed  to 
influence  emanating  from  Marajo.  Similar  finds  have 
also  been  made  on  the  lower  Trombetas,  and  again  in 
the  plains  of  Erere,  though  in  the  latter  locality  the 
style  of  decoration  is  far  more  simple.  Finally  in  Para 
burial-urns  (Fig.  37)  have  been  found  with  rudi- 
mentary human  features  in  relief,  and  with  flat  bases. 


268  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

The  question  of  the  manner  of  burial  next  arises. 
Some  form  of  urn-burial  is  common  over  the  whole 
area,  from  the  river  Plate  to  the  Orinoco  valley,  but 
the  method  is  not  invariably  the  same.  In  some  cases 
the  body  is  placed  in  the  urn  entire,  as  in  the  Parana 
delta,  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  and  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Else- 
where the  skeleton  has  evidently  been  disarticulated 
first,  as  in  Uruguay,  Para,  Maraca  and  other  parts  of 
the  Amazon  basin,  and  Atures.  In  San  Paulo  and 
Marajo  both  methods  appear  to  have  been  followed, 
though  in  the  last  locality  the  dismembered  burials  are 
far  the  more  numerous.  Urn-burial  of  the  first  class 
also  occurs  in  Matto  Grosso,  on  the  upper  Parana,  and 
in  the  Bolivian  Chaco.  Simple  interments  without  urns 
have  been  found  on  the  lower  Parana,  and  in  the  sam- 
baqui  of  Santa  Catharina,  and  this  method  was  prac- 
tised also  by  the  Charrua  in  Uruguay. 

Before  attempting  to  draw  conclusions  from  the  varia- 
tion in  types  of  pottery  and  methods  of  interment,  it 
will  be  as  well  shortly  to  summarize  the  other  remains 
found  throughout  the  area. 

Stone  axes  of  various  types  have  been  found  every- 
where, the  most  common  being  plain  celts  with  pointed 
or  rounded  butts,  some  polished  all  over,  others  with 
the  polishing  confined  mainly  to  the  edges.  In  the  pre- 
sent state  of  our  knowledge  no  significance  can  be  at- 
tached to  this  difference  in  type.  More  elaborate  celts 
with  semilunar  blades  and  a  projecting  tang  (Fig.  2'i-)f) 
have  been  found  in  some  numbers  in  north  Brazil, 
in  Para,  on  the  Tocantins  and  in  Maranhao  ;  a  few 
have  been  discovered  in  Minas  Geraes  and  San  Paulo, 
and  one  in  Rio  Grande  do  Sul.  Grooved  celts,  again, 
are  rare  in  the  south,  though  more  common  in  the 
north,  while  slotted  celts  (such  as  Fig.  4,  /')  are  confined 
to  the  Amazon  valley  and  Guiana.  These  are  the  prin- 
cipal types,  though  a  few  other  forms  have  been  found 
locally.    Chipped  stone  arrow-  and  spear-heads  are  con- 


EASTS? CENTRAL  SOUTH  AMERICA  269 

fined  to  the  most  southerly  provinces  of  Brazil,  and  the 
former  have  been  found  in  Uruguay,  Entre  Rios,  Cor- 
rientes,  and  Paraguay.  Such  objects  are  usually  found 
in  association  with  bolas-stones  and  sling-stones,  which 
are  characteristic  of  the  same  region.  Stone  pestles  and 
rings  (probably  club-heads),  again,  appear  to  be  more 
common  in  the  south,  and  also  discoid  hammer-stones 
with  a  depression  on  either  surface  for  the  fingers. 

To  judge  from  finds  of  pottery  and  steatite  pipes,  the 
use  of  such  utensils  for  smoking  tobacco  must  have  been 
more  common  among  the  southern  tribes,  though  these 
pipes  have  been  found  as  far  north  as  Alagoas.  The 
practice  of  piercing  the  lip,  and  wearing  an  ornament  of 
resin  or  stone,  was  far  more  general, since  these  articles  of 
adornment  (called  tembetas^  33>^))  occur  from  Missiones 
to  Marajo;  and,  though  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  were 
employed  by  the  inhabitants  of  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  they 
were  observed  by  the  early  colonist  among  the  Charrua 
of  Uruguay.  Finely-carved  "amulets"  have  been  found 
in  the  Amazon  valley,especially  on  the  lower  Trombetas, 
representing  animals  in  combat  (Fig.  33,  J)  or  men 
seized  by  jaguars. 

To  summarize  this,  perhaps  rather  wearisome,  cata- 
logue of  finds  ;  we  have,  in  the  north  of  Brazil,  an  area 
characterized  by  vases  in  human  form  with  flat  bases,  a 
white  slip,  and  engraved,  moulded,  applied  and  painted 
ornament.  The  finest  examples  are  found  at  Marajo,  but 
the  art  seems  to  extend  some  distance  up  the  Amazon, 
and  even  southward  to  Para.  In  the  south,  we  have 
vases  with  rounded  bases  only,  with  impressed  decora- 
tion of  a  rude  character  as  a  rule,  and  a  lesser  proportion 
of  painted  ware,  the  latter  becoming  less  frequent  as  we 
proceed  south  ;  human  forms  are  absent.  In  the  Cor- 
rientes  and  Entre  Rios  region  of  the  Parana,  painted 
designs  are  not  found,  but  moulded  decoration  of  a 
peculiar  type  occurs. 

The  natural  inference  is  that  these  two  styles,  repre- 


270  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

senting  roughly  the  lower  Amazon  valley  on  the  one 
hand,  and  the  country  further  south  on  the  other,  must 
be  attributed  respectively  to  tribes  of  different  stock; 
and  that  the  peculiar  style  of  pottery  found  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  Parana  between  Campana  and 
Goya  implies  the  presence  of  yet  a  third  element  in  the 
extreme  south. 

When  we  come  to  consider  theevidencefrom  methods 
of  burial,  we  find  that  secondary  interment  in  urns  is 
almost  universal  in  the  Amazon  basin, ^  but  that  in  the 
south  both  primary  and  secondary  urn-burial  is  found, 
as  well  as  simple  interment  on  the  lower  Parana  and  in 
Uruguay.  Now  it  is  accepted  that  primary  urn-burial 
(where  thebodyis  interred entire)is  characteristic  in  the 
main  of  the  Tupi-Guarani  family,  and  that  secondary 
urn-burial  (where  the  skeleton  is  disarticulated)  is  charac- 
teristic of  the  Arawak,  Carib  and  Ges.  The  distinction 
is  not  absolute,  since  it  is  known  that  Tupi-Guarani 
tribes  used  to  preserve  the  bones  of  warriors  who  had 
fallen  fighting  outside  the  borders  of  their  own  district 
and  bring  them  home  for  burial ;  it  is  known  also  that 
the  Cayua,  a  Guarani  tribe  of  the  Rio  faranapanema,  a 
tributary  of  the  Parana,  even  abandoned  urn-burial 
altogether  in  favour  of  simple  interment,  a  fact  which 
proves  that  changes  in  the  mode  of  sepulture  are  not 
unknown  among  tribes  of  the  Tupi-Guarani  family. 

So  far  indications  seem  to  point  to  the  hypothesis 
that  the  southern  tribes  belonged  in  the  main  to  the 
Tupi-Guarani  stock, with, possibly,an  intrusive  element 
in  the  most  southerly  part  of  the  area.  It  seems  as  if  the 
Ges  must  be  left  out  of  account  until  more  is  known  of 
Brazilian  archaeology.  There  are  reasons  for  believing 
that  they  were,  for  the  most  part,  unacquainted  with  pot- 
tery, though  some  tribes  must  have  acquired  a  know- 
ledge of  it  from  their  neighbours,  in  which  case  their 

^  The  evidence  of  primary  interments  on  Marajo  is  not  quite  con- 
clusive. 


EAST  Gf  CENTRAL  SOUTH  AMERICA  271 

ware  would  hardly  be  distinguishable  from  the  ruder 
pots  of  their  tutors.  Even  the  stone  implements,  until 
a  more  accurate  classification  is  possible,  can  shed  no 
light  upon  this  question. 

It  would  seem  to  follow  that  the  remains  in  the  more 
northern  parts  must  be  attributed  to  the  Arawak  and 
Carib.  It  is  dangerous  perhaps  to  attempt  to  disen- 
tangle the  component  elements  of  the  archaeology  of  this 
district  until  a  more  thorough  survey  has  been  made, 
but  there  are  indications  that  two  styles  exist.  Many  of 
the  remains  on  the  uplands,  e.g.  on  the  lower  Negro,  at 
Cafezal  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Trombetas,  at  Taperinha 
near  Santarem,  and  in  the  plains  of  Erere,  differ  con- 
siderably from  the  pottery  typical  of  Marajo.  Even  in 
Marajo  itself  a  considerable  variation  in  the  quality  of 
the  ware  has  been  observed,  though  for  the  most  part 
only  the  finest  pots  and  fragments  have  been  brought 
away  by  collectors.  But,  at  any  rate  at  the  time  of  the 
conquest,  the  most  numerous  and  valiant  of  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  island  were  the  Aruan,  an  Arawak  tribe. 
Again  the  patterns  on  the  Marajo  pots  are  by  no  means 
unlike  the  painted  decoration  of  those  of  the  Cocama  of 
the  upper  Ucayale,  also  Arawak.  We  may  therefore,  at 
any  rate  provisionally,  set  down  the  Marajo  style  as 
Arawak,  the  other  as  Carib. 

Turning  now  to  the  extreme  south,  we  have  found 
indications  of  an  intrusive  element  in  the  region  which 
we  have  allotted  in  the  main  to  the  Tupi-Guarani. 
Though,  as  has  been  shown,  at  least  one  Guarani  tribe 
has  been  known  to  abandon  urn-burial  in  favour  of 
simple  interment,  yet  the  peculiar  pottery  of  the  Parana 
between  Campana  and  Goya  gains  an  added  significance 
when  it  is  found  associated  with  a  form  of  burial  which 
is  at  least  extremely  uncommon  among  tribes  of  the 
Tupi-Guarani  stock  ;  and  the  suggestion  of  an  intru- 
sive element  from  the  south  becomes  almost  a  certainty 
when  the  evidence  obtained  from  the  distribution  of 


272  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

chipped  arrow-heads  and  the  bolas  is  considered.  These 
two  classes  of  object  are  associated  with  the  form  of 
pottery  and  the  style  of  burial  just  mentioned.  That 
their  range  is  greater  in  a  northerly  direction  is  not 
surprising,  since  their  utility  is  obvious,  and  stone  im- 
plements pass  readily  from  hand  to  hand.  In  witness 
to  the  latter  fact  it  need  only  be  mentioned  that  a  score 
of  diorite  axes  have  been  found  on  Marajo,  no  diorite 
being  known  in  the  Amazon  valley  below  the  first  falls 
of  the  Xingu  or  the  Trombetas.  However,  the  presence 
of  the  bolas  far  north  could  not  be  expected  ;  it  is  a 
weapon  which  would  be  of  no  use  in  the  forest,  and, 
until  the  introduction  of  cattle,  there  was  no  animal 
on  the  open  tablelands  of  Brazil  which  could  well  be 
hunted  by  this  means  ;  nevertheless  stone  arrow-heads 
are  not  open  to  the  same  objection.  In  any  case  it  is  a 
fact  that  both  these  and  the  bolas  are  characteristic  of  the 
tribes  of  the  Pampas. 

Fortunately  something  is  known  of  the  extinct  primi- 
tive peoples  of  Uruguay,  and  of  theTapesof  Rio  Grande 
do  Sul. 

The  Charrua,  already  mentioned,  were  almost  a 
typical  Pampas  tribe  ;  they  were  half-nomad,  turbulent 
and  taciturn ;  individual  freedom  was  a  great  feature 
of  their  social  system,  and  their  temporary  chiefs,  men 
of  personal  ability  whom  they  consented  to  follow,  had 
only  a  limited  authority  over  them.  The  social  system 
was  patriarchal,  the  heads  of  families  met  in  council  to 
discuss  tribal  affairSjand  the  sons  lived  with  their  fathers 
until  they  married.  They  buried  dead  tribesmen  in 
cemeteries  on  small  hills,  together  with  their  weapons, 
and  piled  stones  over  the  graves.  Their  huts  were  made 
of  skins  or  branches,  and  their  garments  of  hide.  In 
all  these  features  they  resembled  the  tribes  of  the  Argen- 
tine Pampas  ;  but  they  also  made  pottery,  which  they 
ornamented  with  engraved  patterns,  and  their  women 
wore  lip-ornaments,  habits  which  they  had  probably 


EAST  (Sif  CENTRAL  SOUTH  AMERICA  273 

learnt  from  their  neighbours.  Other  similar  peoples 
existed  in  Uruguay,  but  others  again  were  found  whose 
customs  suggest  a  Tupi-Guarani  origin.  Such  were  the 
Ghana,  northern  neighbours  of  the  Gharrua,  a  peaceable 
folk  who  made  good  pottery  and  practised  secondary 
urn-burial. 

The  Tapes,  west  of  the  Lagoa  dos  Patos  in  Rio 
Grande  do  Sul,  also  made  pottery  resembling  that  already 
described  as  typical  of  southern  Brazil ;  but  they  used  the 
bolas,and  their  social  system  seems  similar  rather  to  that 
of  the  Gharrua.  We  are  told  that  they  spoke  a  language 
which  did  not  belong  to  the  Tupi-Guarani  stock,  and 
they  have  been  set  down  as  a  Ges  tribe  in  consequence, 
but  it  seems  more  likely  that  they  were  originally  immi- 
grants from  the  Pampas,  though  their  migration  prob- 
ably took  place  at  a  date  earlier  than  that  of  the  Gharrua. 
A  further  indication  of  influence  exerted  from  the 
south  is  seen  in  the  distribution  of  pipes  of  a  pattern 
similar  to  those  used  on  the  Pampas.  That  they  have 
spread  further  to  the  north  is  only  natural,  since  geo- 
graphical conditions,  short  of  the  absence  of  tobacco, 
would  not  set  a  limit  to  their  range,  and  no  customs  are 
so  readily  borrowed  as  those  connected  with  eating  and 
drinking,  under  which  head  the  smoking  of  tobacco 
must  be  included.  Tobacco  was  of  course  known  to  the 
tribes  in  the  north,  but  it  was  smoked  in  the  form  of 
cigars.  We  may  conclude,  therefore,  that  an  intrusive 
element  from  the  Pampas  exists  in  the  south,  the  original 
culture  of  which  has  become  more  or  less  modified  by 
contact  with  the  Tupi-Guarani. 

Petroglyphs  and  pictographs,  engraved  or  painted  on 
rocks,  have  been  discovered  in  nearly  every  state  in 
Brazil,  as  well  as  in  the  Guianas.  Many  of  them  are 
situated  at  the  falls  of  rivers,  and  some,  in  the  northern 
portion  of  the  region,  bear  a  certain  resemblance  to  those 
in  Venezuela.  In  the  north  engraved  designs  are  more 
common,  in  the  south,  painted  ;  but  sufficient  material 


274  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

has  not  yet  been  published  to  render  any  classification 
possible.  Most  of  them  resemble  childish  scribblings, 
except  in  the  Amazon  valley,  where  more  recognizable 
figures  have  been  observed. 

As  indicated  at  the  beginning  of  the  chapter,  none  of 
these  remains  carry  with  them  any  indication  of  date, 
except  that  evidences  of  contact  with  Europeans  have 
been  found  in  a  few  cases.  To  these  must  be  added  the 
chevron  beads  found  in  a  burial-urn  at  Linha  in  Rio 
Grande  do  Sul.  Of  the  same  province  it  has  been  stated 
that  pottery  fragments  have  been  found  in  ancient  settle- 
ments in  such  a  position  as  to  give  rise  to  the  belief  that 
a  plain  unornamented  type  preceded  one  with  a  white 
slip  and  painted  designs,  and  that  rude  impressed  orna- 
mentation was  older  than  either.  But  this,  though  in 
itself  probable,  requires  confirmation. 

A  few  traces  of  Andean  influence  have  been  dis- 
covered, consisting  of  silver  discs  pierced  in  the  middle, 
found  in  Rio  Grande  do  Sul,  and  a  copper  axe  of  Peru- 
vian type,  exhumed  on  an  island  in  the  river  Ribeira  in 
San  Paulo.  Furthermore,  Cabe^a  de  Vaca  observed 
small  copper  axes  in  use  among  certain  Guarani,  and  it 
is  probable  that  these  also  came  originally  from  the 
Andes.  Speaking  generally,  the  tribes  of  this  area  were 
living  in  an  age  of  stone,but  the  facility  with  which  they 
worked  it,  and  the  quality  of  their  pottery,  show  that 
many  of  them  at  least  had  made  considerable  progress 
in  cultural  evolution. 


APPENDIX 

FROM  the  sketch  of  South  American  archaeology 
given  in  the  foregoing  chapters  the  gaps  in  our 
knowledge  are  only  too  apparent  ;  but  it  may  serve  a 
useful  purpose  if  they  are  shortly  summarized,  and  some 
indication  given  as  to  the  localities  where  archaeological 
investigation  is  especially  required.  In  Colombia,  points 
of  particular  interest  are  :  firstly  the  north-west  of  the 
province  of  Antioquia  and  the  Darien  portion  of  the 
Isthmus,  since  they  form  geographically  the  connecting 
link  between  Central  and  South  America  ;  and  secondly 
the  remarkable  ruins  of  San  Agustin,  which  have  never 
been  properly  investigated,  and  which  might  prove  to 
be  connected  with  the  early  megalithic  remains  of  Peru 
and  Bolivia,  or  with  the  coast  of  Ecuador.  But  as  a 
matter  of  fact  the  whole  of  Colombia  is  practically  virgin 
ground  as  far  as  the  scientific  explorer  is  concerned,  and 
it  is  earnestly  to  be  hoped  that  the  leaders  of  the  G.  G. 
Heye  Expedition,  at  present  at  work  in  Ecuador,  may 
ultimately  carry  out  their  intention  of  extending  their 
operations  to  this  country.  Venezuela,  again,  is  prac- 
tically untouched,  and  the  highlands  may  yet  yield  re- 
mains of  the  greatest  archaeological  value  in  determining 
how  far  this  region  may  be  connected  with  Colombia. 
Quite  recently  a  number  of  remarkable  black  pottery 
vessels,  mostly  in  the  form  of  animals,  has  been  said 
to  have  been  found  in  the  Santander  province  of  Colom- 
bia, near  the  Venezuelan  border.  These  are  very  rough, 
and  their  appearance  does  not  suggest  any  great  age, 
but  the  question  might  be  worth  investigation.  In 
Ecuador  good  work  has  already  been  performed  on  the 

275 


2/6  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

coast  by  the  expedition  already  mentioned,  but  the  high- 
lands still  require  careful  exploration,  especially  in  the 
province  of  Cuenca,  where  the  remains  may  show  some 
connection  with  the  north  coast  of  Peru.  In  Peru  itself,  in- 
cluding Bolivia,  much  irreparable  damage  has  been  done 
(as  also  in  Colombia)  by  treasure-seekers ;  but  the  admir- 
able work  of  Uhle  has  proved  that,  by  means  of  careful 
excavation  carried  out  on  proper  lines,  we  may  yet  be 
able  to  reconstruct  the  outlines  of  pre-Inca  civilization. 
Truxillo  and  its  neighbourhood  especially  should  be 
the  next  sphere  of  research.^  Of  the  inland  parts,  the 
vicinities  of  the  various  Inca  fortresses  should  be  care- 
fully searched  for  traces  of  the  earlier  population,  be- 
ginning with  the  site  of  Chavin  de  Huantar,  which  has 
never  yet  been  adequately  described.  At  Tiahuanaco 
the  work  begun  by  Stiibel  and  Uhle,  and  continued  by 
the  Crequi-Montfort  Expedition,  should  be  completed, 
and  investigations  inaugurated  in  the  neighbourhoods 
of  Hatun-Colla  and  Chucuito.  Inanycase  the  field  is  still 
extremely  rich,  but  the  explorer  must  concentrate  his 
attention  on  a  single  area  and  be  content  to  deal 
thoroughly  with  a  small  neighbourhood  before  pro- 
ceeding elsewhere.  It  is  only  by  the  patient  collection 
of  detailed  information  that  a  firm  basis  for  theories  can 
be  prepared,  and  if  the  investigator  can  confine  his  atten- 
tion to  the  details,  and  leave  the  theories  for  a  later 
stage,  so  much  the  better  for  his  final  results.  In  the 
Argentine,  archaeological  research  is  being  carried  out 
on  the  proper  lines  by  a  small  but  extremely  efficient 
body  of  men,  and  it  would  be  well  if  their  enthusiasm 
could  be  emulated  in  Peru,  where  the  lifelong  labours 

^  Since  the  above  was  written,  Dr.  Hrdlicka  has  published  a  short 
preliminary  account  of  investigations  in  this  neighbourhood  (Smithsonian 
Miscellaneous  Collections,  vol.  56,  No.  16.  Some  Results  of  Recent 
Anthropological  Exploration  in  Peru),  from  which  it  appears  that  when  his 
collections  have  been  studied  in  detail  it  may  be  possible  to  evolve  for  the 
Truxillo  district  a  more  complete  system  of  sequence-dating. 


APPENDIX  277 

of  Uhle  have  gained  little  encouragement  and  no  local 
imitators.  Thanks  to  local  enterprise,  assisted  by  ex- 
peditions from  France  and  Sweden,  a  very  good  picture 
can  be  formed  of  the  archaeology  of  the  Argentine  high- 
lands, and  work  of  a  sound  scientific  nature  has  been 
and  is  being  carried  on  in  Buenos  Aires  and  Patagonia. 
Owing  to  the  vast  extent  of  the  area  to  be  covered  much 
remains  to  be  done  ;  in  the  north-west,  the  provinces 
of  La  Rioja  and  San  Juan  are  still  imperfectly  explored, 
and  the  region  between  the  Rio  Negro  and  Rio  Chubut, 
and  again  south  of  the  Rio  Santa  Cruz,  require  investiga- 
tion, which  no  doubt  will  soon  be  forthcoming.  Of  the 
great  region  occupied  by  Brazil  very  little  is  known, 
and  the  dense  forest  which  covers  so  large  a  proportion 
of  the  territory  renders  archaeological  work  almost  im- 
possible at  present.  Still  an  organized  series  of  excava- 
tions in  the  shell-mounds  on  the  coast,  and  along  the 
banks  of  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries,  would  be  of 
the  greatest  value  provided  that  the  relative  positions 
of  the  various  finds  were  properly  noted. 

It  may  perhaps  be  useful  to  include  in  this  appendix 
a  short  bibliography  of  works  dealing  in  greater  detail 
with  the  different  regions  of  South  America.  To  put 
forward  a  list  of  this  kind  is  to  invite  criticism,  since 
perhaps  no  two  individuals  would  compile  an  exactly 
similar  list.  Let  it  be  said  at  once  that  the  following 
bibliography  cannot  claim  to  be  more  than  some  slight 
guide  to  those  who  wish  to  go  more  deeply  into  the 
subject  of  South  American  archaeology. 

Literature  dealing  with  Venezuela  from  this  point  of 
view  is  remarkably  scarce,  but  a  very  fair  account  of  the 
remains  found  in  certain  limited  areas,  together  with  a 
history  of  the  conquest,  is  given  by  G.  Marcano  in  Eth- 
nologie  Precolumbienne  de  Venezuela  (Paris  1899). 

Colombia  is  more  fortunate,  in  the  Historia  General o^ 
L.  F.  de  Piedrahita  (1688)  and  the  Noticias  Historiales  of 
Pedro  Simon  (1627),  of  which  the  sixth  book  has  been 


278  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHEOLOGY 

published  in  translation  by  the  Hakluyt  Society.  Cieza 
de  Leon,  mentioned  below  under  Peru,  also  gives  much 
valuable  information  concerning  Colombia.  Of  more 
modern  authors,  E.  Restrepo  Tirado  and  Vincente  Res- 
trepo  have  written  admirable  treatises  on  the  natives. 
To  the  former  is  due Estudios  sobre  los  Aborigines  de  Colom- 
bia^ and  Provincia  de  los  Quimbayas  (Bogota  1892) ;  to  the 
latter,  Los  Chibchas  (Bogota  1895).  A.  Stubel  and  M. 
Uhle's  large  work,  Kultur  und Industrie  der  sud-Amerikan- 
ische  Volker  (Berlin  1889-90),  illustrates  a  number  of 
Colombian  objects  in  gold  and  pottery. 

For  Ecuador,  besides  the  writings  of  Cieza  de  Leon, 
we  have  the  History  of  the  Kingdom  of  Quito^  published  in 
1789,  by  Juan  de  Velasco,  and  also  passages  in  Zarate 
and  Oviedo  which  are  quoted  in  full  in  M.  H.  Saville's 
Antiquities  ofManabi  (New  York  1907-10),  a  work  deal- 
ing fully  with  the  coastal  districts.  G.  Dorsey's  Archa- 
ological  Investigations  on  the  Island  of  La  Plata  (Field 
Columbian  Museum,  Chicago  1901)  is  also  a  valuable 
publication,  and  Gonzalez  Suarez'Lw  Aborigines delmba- 
bura  e  de  Carchi  gives,  an  extremely  useful  account  of  the 
northern  provinces,  though  everyone  will  not  agree  with 
his  theories.  His  Atlas  Arqueologico  should  also  be  men- 
tioned. The  work  of  Stubel  and  Uhle  mentioned  above 
also  figures  a  number  of  Ecuadorian  antiquities. 

In  dealing  with  Peru  we  find  a  great  mass  of  literature 
of  which  only  a  few  books  and  articles  can  be  mentioned 
here,  notably  a  valuable  bibliography  of  works  dealing 
with  Peru  compiled  by  G.  Dorsey  (Field  Columbian 
Museum,  publication  23,  1898).  Of  the  older  authors 
many  of  the  most  important  have  been  translated  and 
edited  by  Sir  Clements  Markham,  and  published  by  the 
Hakluyt  Society.  These  include  the  Travels  of  Pedro 
Cieza  de  Leon, a  first-hand  authority,and  \)!\eRoyal  Com- 
mentaries oi  GdiVzW^^sso  de  la  Vega,  himself  a  great-grand- 
son of  Tupac  Yupanqui,  and  perhaps  the  most  readable 
of  all  the  early  historians.     Besides  these,  the  "  official  " 


APPENDIX  279 

History  of  the  Incas  by  Sarmiento  de  Gamboa,  Acosta's 
Historyofthe IndieSy2.nd  the i?(?/»or/of  Paolo  de  Ondegardo 
have  appeared  under  the  same  auspices,  together  with 
works  valuable  for  the  study  of  Peruvian  religion,  as 
those  of  Salcamayhua,Avila,and  Molina.  Other  authors 
of  importance  from  the  same  point  of  view  are  J.  de 
Arriaga,  Extirpacion  de  la  Idolatria  del  Peru  (Lima  1 62 1), 
A.  R.  Gavilan,  Historia  de  Copacabana  (Lima  1621,  a 
book  of  great  rarity,  of  which,  however,  a  copy  exists 
in  the  British  Museum),  and  Calancha,  Chronica  Morali- 
zada  (Barcelona  1638),  while  the  works  of  still  other 
early  writers  will  be  found  in  the  Memoires  sur  V Ame- 
rique  of  Ternaux-Compans  (including  Montesinos,  Bal- 
boa and  Xeres),  and  the  Collecion  de  libros  raros  0  curiosos 
of  Jimenez  de  la  Espada.     Before  turning  to  more 
modern  authors,  mention  may  be  made  of  A.  A.  Barba's 
Arte  de  los  Metales  (Madrid  1 640),  which  gives  details  as 
to  the  indigenous  method  of  smelting  in  Peru.    Of  later 
works,  the  Peru  of  E.  G.  Squier  (London,  2nd  ed.  1878) 
must  be  mentioned  first,  which  is  still  the  best  general 
account  of  the  ruins  throughout  the  country.     C.  Wie- 
ner's Perou  et  Bolivie  (Paris  1 880)  is  also  interesting  but 
not  altogether  reliable.     From  the  historical  side  Sir 
Clements  Markham's  The  Incas  of  Peru  (London  1910) 
is  the  most  valuable,  since  it  contains  the  most  modern 
theories,  and  is  based  upon  an  unique  knowledge  of 
the  early  literary  sources  ;  in  this  book  will  be  found 
an  admirable  summary  of  the  early  authors  together 
with  remarks  upon  their  respective  credibility,  and  also 
a  translation  of  the   drama  of  Ollantay.     Of  purely 
archaeological  works  the  Pachacamac  of  Max  Uhle  (Uni- 
versity of  Pennsylvania  1903)  is  the  most  important, 
especially  when  supplemented  by  the  two  papers  pub- 
lished by  the  same  author,  in  the  Report  of  the  Ameri- 
canist Congress  of  1904  (Stuttgart),  on  his  subsequent 
researches  at  Moche  and  Nasca.     It  is  greatly  to  be 
hoped  that  this  author  will  soon  have  the  opportunity 


28o  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHiEOLOGY 

of  giving  to  the  world  the  extensive  material  which  yet 
awaits  publication.  Another  important  work  dealing 
with  the  coast  is  Reiss  and  Stiibel's  Necropolis  of  Ancon 
(Berlin  1880-87),  in  three  large  volumes.  Regarding 
the  Peruvian  highlands,an  admirable  account  of  Tiahua- 
naco  is  contained  in  Stiibel  and  Uhle's  Der  Ruinen-stdtte 
von  Tiahuanaco  (Berlin  i  892),  while  the  most  recent  re- 
searches are  sketched  by  the  ComtedeCrequi-Montfort 
in  the  Report  of  the  Americanist  Congress  mentioned 
above.  The  ruins  on  the  island  of  Titicaca  have  been 
treated  in  detail  by  R.  E.  Bandelier,  The  Islands  of  Titi- 
caca and  Coati  (New  York  19 10),  and  the  same  author 
has  also  published  a  description  of  the  peninsula  of 
Sillustani  in  Vol.  VII  of  the  American  Anthropologist. 
This  publication  contains  many  useful  papers  both  by 
Bandelier  and  by  Uhle  dealing  with  Peruvian  archae- 
ology, while  the  Reports  of  the  Americanist  Congresses, 
and  of  the  Societe  des  Americanistes  de  Paris,  include  a 
variety  of  papers  of  great  importance.  Of  books  deal- 
ing in  genera]  with  certain  sides  of  Peruvian  culture,  may 
be  mentioned  the  three  works  of  A.  Baessler,  Peruan- 
ische  Mumien^  Alt-Peruanische  Metallgerilte  (both  Berlin 
1906)  and  the  imposing  four  volumes  o^  Peruvian  Art 
(Berlin  1902-3)  of  which  a  translation  by  the  late  Prof. 
A.  H.  Keane  exists.  Stiibel  and  Uhle's  Kultur  und 
Industrie  must  also  be  mentioned  in  this  connection  ; 
while  the  treatise  on  weaving  by  Max  Schmidt,  Alt- 
peruanische  Gewebe  (Baessler- Archiv  I,  i,  Berlin  19 10), 
and  Max  Steffen's  Die  Landwirtschaft  bei  den  Altameri- 
kanischen  Kulturv'olker  (Leipzig  1883),  are  worthy  of 
special  mention.  From  the  religious  side  a  paper  by  S. 
A.  Lafone-Quevedo,  El  Quito  de  Tonapa  (Revista  del 
Museo  de  La  Plata,  III,  321),  is  suggestive,  though  the 
conclusions  are  liable  to  dispute  ;  but  the  book  on  the 
religion  of  Peru  yet  remains  to  be  written. 

As  regards  the  Argentine  Republic  the  literature  is  also 
extensive ;  but  a  very  good  idea  of  the  archaeology  can  be 


APPENDIX  281 

gathered  from  a  small  book  by  F.  F.  Outes  and  C.  Bruch, 

Los  Aborigines  de  la  Republica  Argentina  (Buenos  Aires 
1 9 10),  which  contains  a  well-chosen  bibliography.  An- 
other book  furnished  with  a  still  more  extensive  biblio- 
graphy, includingalso  many  workson  Peru,  is  E.  Roman's 
Antiquites  de  la  Region  Andine  de  la  Republique  Argentine 
(Paris  1 908),  which  is  an  excellent  work  in  every  respect; 
while  for  other  literature,  all  of  it  of  great  importance, 
the  names  of  J.  B.  Ambrosetti,  S.  A.  Lafone-Quevedo, 
and  F.  F.  Outes  may  be  sought  in  the  British  Museum 
Catalogue.  In  particular  may  be  mentioned  El  Bronce 
en  el  Region  Calchaqui  (Buenos  Aires  1904),  and  Los 
Cemeteries  prehistoricos  del  Alto  Parana  (Buenos  Aires 
1895)  ^y  ^^^  fi^^^  °^  these  authors,  Tipos  de  Alfareria 
en  la  Region  Calchaqui  (Rev.  Mus.  Plat.  XV,  295)  by 
the  second,  and  Alf arenas  del  Nordoeste  Argentine  (Ann. 
Mus.  Plat.  I,  5)  by  the  third.  Other  papers  which  may 
be  consulted  with  advantage  are  R.  M.  Torres,  La 
Cuenca  ael  Rio  Parana  (Rev.  Mus.  Plat.  XIV,  53)  and 
J.  H.  Figueira,  Los  Primitivos  Habitantes  del  Uruguay, 
while  the  Revista  of  the  La  Plata  Museum,  so  often 
cited,  is  a  veritable  storehouse  of  knowledge  concern- 
ing this  region. 

For  Chile  the  literature  is  far  less  abundant.  The 
works  of  J.  T.  Medina,  including  his  Aborigines  de  Chile 
(Santiago  1888),  contain  a  great  deal  of  information, 
and  the  paper  by  R.  E.  Latcham,  Anthropologia  Chilena 
(Rev.  Mus.  Plat.  XVI,  241),  gives  the  latest  theories 
regarding  this  region.  Two  papers  by  O.  H.  Evans 
(Man  1906,  12,  and  1907,  41)  give  a  good  idea  of  the 
coastal  district  of  Atacama,  while  the  work  of  Boman, 
mentioned  above,  deals  in  part  with  the  inland  region. 

Of  Patagonian  archaeology,  as  far  as  the  remains  of  early 
man  are  concerned,  a  treatise  edited  by  R.  Lehmann- 
Nitsche  called  Nouvelles  Recherches  sur  la  Formation  Pam- 
peenne  (Rev.  Mus.  Plat.  XIV,  143)  not  only  sums  up  the 
excavatory  and  geological  evidence  in  masterly  fashion, 
T  2 


282  SOUTH  AMERICAN  ARCHAEOLOGY 

but  gives  references  to  the  works  of  others,  principally 
of  Ameghino,  who  have  laboured  to  elucidate  the  prob- 
lems presented  by  Patagonian  archaeology.  This  paper, 
taken  in  conjunction  with  the  admirable  work  of  F.  F. 
Outes,  El  Edad  de  la  Piedra  en  Patagonia  (Buenos  Aires 
1 905),  gives  practically  a  complete  picture  of  our  know- 
ledge of  ancient  Patagonia. 

Brazil  cannot  boast  of  a  literature  commensurate  with 
its  great  size.  The  most  important  treatises  are  perhaps 
C.  F.  Hartt's  Contribucoes  para  a  Ethnologia  do  Valle  do 
Amazonas^  and  L.  Netto's  Investigacoes  sobre  a  Archaologia 
Brazileira  (both  in  the  Archives  do  Museu  Nacional  do 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  VI),  and  H.  von  Ihering's  A  Civilisacdo 
prehistorica  do  Brazil  Meridional  (Revista  do  Museu  Paul- 
ista,  I).  To  these  may  be  added  two  papers  by  E.  A. 
Goldi  in  the  Report  of  the  fourteenth  Americanist  Con- 
gress (Stuttgart)  and  a  number  of  papers,  by  Ehrenreich, 
von  den  Steinen,  Kunert  and  others,  published  at  in- 
tervals in  the  Zeitschrift  fur  Ethnologie  (Berlin). 

The  works  given  above,  as  before  stated,  constitute 
in  no  sense  a  complete  list,  but  they  will  at  least  form 
a  nucleus,  or  a  series  of  nuclei,  around  which  students 
may  construct  their  own  bibliographies  if  they  desire  to 
become  more  closely  acquainted  with  the  fascinating 
problems  of  South  American  archaeology. 


INDEX 


Abira,  27 
Achagua,  10 
Aconcagua,  240 
Acosta,  J.  de,  209,  279 
agriculture,  5,  9,  39,  40,  45,  59, 

117-122,  158,  220-222,  225, 

226,  230,  234,  239,  240,  248 
Alacaluf,  218,  239 
Alagoas,  269 
alpaca,  122-124 
Amauta,  81,  83,  215 
Amazon,  2-4,  255-274,  277 
Ambrosetti,  J.  B.,  222,  281 
Ameghino,  S.,  238,  282 
Ancas-mayu  R.,  47,  56,  75,  97, 

108 
ancestor-worship,  144,  154,  156, 

I57>  224 
Ancon,  145,  147,  182 
Ancovilca,  90 
Andahuaylas,   75,   81,    88,    129, 

.157 
animal    costumes,    31,    154    155, 

172,  180,  181,  225 
Anti,  76,  96,  97,  156 
Antilles,   7,  64,   188,   189,  207, 

256 
Antioquia,  7,  2>-/^t\ passim,  275 
Antofagasta,  2 1 8 
Anzerma,  42 
apacheta,  163 
Apurimac,  R.,  88,  142 


Argentina,  5,  66,  72,  93,  108, 
151,  183,  186-190,  198,  207, 
210,  216-218,  221-254,  255, 
262,  272,  276,  277,  280,  281 

Arica,  93,  108,  125,  216,  219 

Arizona,  207 

Arriaga,  J.  de,  144,  147,  154, 
156,  161,  279 

Aruan,  271 

Asto-huaraca,  91 

astronomy,  213-215 

Atacama  desert,  90,  97,  108, 
217,  219,  220,  235,  239 

Atacama  (people),  222,  224, 
226,  231,  233,  234 

Atahualpa,  78,  97,  98,  112,  209 

Atures,  266,  268 

Auca,  78,  79 

Aullagas  L.,  88 

Avila,  F.  de,  132,  279 

Ayamarca,  75,  90 

ayllu,  100,   101,   141,   146,   154, 

Aymara,  75 

Bachue,  11,  27,  28,  30 
Baessler,  A.,  210,  280 
Bahia  Blanca,  251 
Balboa,  M.  C,  189,  279 
balsa,  50,  52,  60,  125,  220 
Bandelier,  R.  E.,  280 
Barba,  A.  A.,  279 


Araucanians,  97,  loi,  217,  220,  [  Betanzos,  J.  de,  78 

221,     239,     240,     242-246,  !  Blanco,  C,  238,  246,  251 

248-250  I  Bochica,  12,13,14,  27,28,31,38 

Arawak,  7,  46,  256,  270,  271  Bogota,  8-46  passim 

Are,  12  I  bolas,   123,   174,    212,  246-248, 

Arequipa,  88,  90,  108  j  269,  272,  273 

283 


284 


INDEX 


Boman,  E.,  222,  262,  281 

Bonbon,  94 

Botocudo,  260 

brazier,  73, 

Brazil,    I,   3,   4,   234,    255-274 

277,  282 
bridges,  55,  142,  143 
Broad-heads  4,   192,   218,   239, 

241,  242 
Bruch,  C,  281 

Buenos  Aires,  4,  236,  238,  240, 

242,  248,  250-254,  261,  277 
Bumanguay,  14 

burial,  34,  35,  46,  64-66,  135, 
144-149,  179,  182,  218, 
219,  222,  226,  227,233,  234, 
245,  246,  258,  260,  266, 
267,  268,  270,  272 

Cabega  de  Vaca,  274 

Cacha,  55,  56 

Cachi,  78,  79 

Cafezal,  271 

Calancha,  A.  de  la,  279 

Calchaqui,  183,  217.  5^^ Diaguite 

Calchaqui  Valley,  227,  235,  253 

calendar,  44,  66,  213,  214 

Campana,  261,  262,  270,  271 

Calicuchima,  55 

Cana,  75,  87 

Caiiari,  47,  49,  53,  55,  56,  61, 

66,  67,  69,  70 
Canchi,  75 
cannibalism,  40 
Cara,  47,  65 
Cari,  89, 
Canicuba,  27 
Caracas,  1 1 
Caran,  52 
Caranqui,  59,  60 
Carib,  7,  46,  256,  270,  271 
Cartage,  9,  22,  35,  40 
Catamarca,  216,  224,  225 
Cauca,  8-10,  30,  35,  40 
Cayambe,  56,  59,  68 
Cayua,  270 


Caxamarca,   94,    96,    106,    107, 

129 
Ccacha,  56 

Ccapac  Yupanqui,  78,  88,  89 
Ceara,  256 
census,   102,  103 
Cerro  de  Pasco,  107 
Chachapoyas,  118,129,  156 
Chana,  273 
Chanca,  75,  76,  81,89-94,  100, 

129,  135'  154.  159 
Chancay,  182 
Chancayillo,  136 
Chanchan,  141 
Chango,  219 
Chaquen,  27,  28 
Charca,  219 
Charcas,  97 
Charrua,    262,    268,    269,    272, 

273 
charqui,  124 
Chasqu'i,  108 
Chavin   de    Huantar,    106,    107, 

175-177,  181,  186,  187,  191, 

276 
Chia,  19,  20 
Chibcha,  9-44  passim,  47,  59,  66, 

69,  144,  160,  188,  266 
Chibchachum,  12,  13,  27,  28 
Chicama  Valley,  180 
chicha,  21,  25,  26,  34,  121,  157, 

158,  162,  163,  165,  166,  248 
Chico  R.,  238, 
children,     23,    106,     109,     115, 

116 
Chile,  4,  81,  93,  94,  125,  182, 

198,  213,216,223,  234,  236, 

239-243,  246-248,  250,  252, 

253'  281 
Chiloe  Id.,  220,  239,  240,  248 
Chiminigagua,  1 1,  27 
Chimu,  51,  95,  96,  140 
Chincha  Is.,  95,  187,  189 
Chingana,  84 
Chiqui,  225 
Chiriguano,   97 


INDEX 


285 


Chiriqui,  7,  10 

Choapa  R.,  221 

Chordeleg,  69,  70 

Chubut  R.,  238,  247,  248,  252, 

253,  254,  277 
Chucuito,  89,  276 
Chullpa,  135,  136 
Chumpivilca,  75,  88 
Chuncho,  76 
chuno,  121 
Chuquiniancu,  95 
Cieza  de  Leon,  P.,  48,   57,  61, 

62,  65,  75,  88-93,  96,   106, 

107,  119,  129,  134,  148,  162, 

278 
Cluni,  51 
clothing,  18,  36,  37>  45>  5o>  60, 

61,  104,  1 10,  II  I,  123,  127- 

i3i»  i55»  i59»223,  225,  234, 

250,  262,  272 
coca,  32,  34,  40,  97,  122,  163, 

224 
Cocama,  271 
Coconuco,  9 

Colhue  L.,  245,  246,  252 
Colima,  10,  22,  24,  26,  33 
Colla,  75,87,  88,  92,  100,  129, 

i3i»  i35»  i54>  156,158,  168, 

187,  219 
Colombia,    5-7,   9-44,   47,   49, 

66,    71-73.    129,   130,    154, 

167,  190,  275-278 
communism,  99-101,  104,  105 
Comechingon,  234 
Conchucos,  161 
confession,  164 
conopa,  157,  158,  159,  163 
convents,  105,  161,  162 
Copiapo,    198,    217,    220,    224, 

235 
copper,  40,  41,    70,   132,    192, 

208,  210,  212,  218,  219,  223, 
225,  230,  231,  234,  274 

Coquimbo,  108,  219 

Cordoba,  216,  234,  236 

Corcovado,  240 


Corrientes  (Buenos  Aires),  253 

Corrientes  Province,  261,  269 

Cotabamba,   75 

cotton,  9,  18,  36,  37,  39,  44, 
60,  128,  145,  195,  205 

Courty,  G.,  168,  174,  182 

creation-myth,  11,  12,  150,  151, 
168 

cremation,  35 

Crequi-Montfort  Expedition,  1 68, 
276,  280 

culture-hero,  12,  85 

Cuenca,  68-70,  108,  212,  275 

Cuismancu,  95,  140 

Cundinamarca,  6,  9 

Curicancha,  87,  153 

currency,  24 

Cuzco,  5,  55,  56,  75,  79,  80-85, 
87-94,  98, 100, 102, 106-109, 
III,  112,  116,  118,  134,136- 
138,142,  146,  148,153,  155, 
156,  159,  i6r,  164,  166, 
175,  185,  186,197,  198,207, 
213-215,  224 

Dabeciba,  12,  27 

Darien,  275 

deluge-myth,  13,  167 

Deseado  R.,  246,  250,  252 

Desaguadero,  88,  219 

Diaguite,    66,     188,    217,    219, 

224-235 
divination,    33,    96,    160,     161, 

164,  165 
dogs,  125,  222,  226 
dolls,  147 
Dorsey,  G.,  278 
dyeing,  9,  36,  44,  203 
Ducilela,  53,  54 

ear-ornaments,  18,  24,  25,  32, 
35»  36,  61,  no,  112,  114, 
129,  130,   266 

eclipse,  215 

Ecuador,    11,     47-74,    97,    98, 


286 


INDEX 


154, 177, 188, 195, 198, 228, 
230, 248, 253, 275, 278 

education,  115,  116,  215 
Ehrenreich,  P.,  282 
embroidery,  202 
emeralds,  18,  23,  28,  30,  42,  59, 

67,  70 
Entre  Rios,  261,  269 
Epiclachima,  55 
Erere,  267,  271 
Esmeraldas,  52,  54,  65,  73,  74 
Evans,  O.  H.,  281 

feather-work,  128 

feasts,    26,    31,    32,    145,    149, 

I55»  164-167 
fetish,  78,  150,  157,  158 
fishing,  50,    60,  125-127,  219- 

220,  246 
Figueira,  J.  H.,  281 
food,  40,  121,  122,  124 
foreign  influence,  189-192,  266, 

274 
fortresses,  55,  81,  94,   135-138, 

147,  185,  186 
Fresle,  R.,  20 

Galapagos  Is.,  57 

Gallegos,  246,  250 

Garanchacha,  14,  38 

Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  61,  77, 
78,86-92,103,112-115,117, 
120,  125,  144,  148,  155,159. 
162,  187,  189,  203,  213,214, 

215,  278 
gauze,  204 

Gavilan,  A.  R.,  162,  279 
geography,    1-6,  8,  45,  47,  48, 

216,  217,  236,  255,  256 
Ges,  256,  257,  260,  270,  273 
giants,  50,  52,  54,  64 

gold,  10,  16,  18,  20,  21,  23, 
25.  28,  30,  31,  34,  36,  37, 
40-42,  45,  62,  66,  70,  III, 
130,  134,  145,  148,  149,  153, 


163,  165,  192,208,  209,225, 

232 
Goldi,  E.  A.,  282 
Gonzales  Suarez,  188,  278 
government,    5,    6,    13,    17-22, 

45»  54»  59»99>243»  245,  272 
Goya,  261,  270,  271 
Guanenta,  13 
Guarani,    226,    234,    256,    270, 

271,  273,  274 
Guatabita,  15,  16,  19,  20,  21 
Guatabita  (lake),  15,  20,  21,  28, 

31 

Guayaquil,  50,  53,  57,  67,  70 
Guec/ia,  24,  36 

Guiana,  i,  255,   256,   266,   268, 
273 

habitations,   37,  45,  48,  62,  63, 

132-142,  220,  222,  225,  233, 

234,  250,  272 
hair-dressing,  61,  115,   116,  129 
Hanco-huallu,  94 
Hartt,  C.  F.,  282 
Hatun-Colla,  87,  89,  276 
head-deformation,     35,    46,     61, 

62,  131,  132,  192,  219,  223, 

265 
Heye,    G.    G.    Expedition,    73, 

275^ 
Hrdlicka,  A.,  192,  276 
huacCy   85,    92,    112,   146,   150, 

153-160,  163,  166,  194 
Huacho,  144 
huaira,  208,  209,  223 
Hualcopo,  54,  55 
Huaman,  95 

Huanacauri,  79,  112,  113,  115 
huanaco,  122-124,  237,  246 
Huanca,  76,  129,  156 
Huancavillca,  53,  57,  58 
Huanuco,  81,  94,  107,  135 
huarackicu,  79,  112-115 
Huarochiri,  152 
Huascar,  78,  97,  98 
Huaura,  106 


Huayna  Ccapac,  56,  57,  78,  93, 

97,  117,  148,  160 
Huilliche,  240,  241 
Huitaca,  1 2 
human  sacrifice,   25,  29,  34,  58, 

65,   67,    92,   144,    162,    163, 

188,  228,  246 
Hunsahua,  15 
hunting,    5,    39,    40,    123-125, 

222,  234,  246 

Idacansas,  14 

idols,  30,  220 

Ihering,  H.  von,  282 

Inca  (ruler),  18,19,78,110-112, 

129,  149,  157,  161,  165,  166, 

208,  209 
Inca   (class)  5,    no,    112,    116, 

129,  153,  213 
inheritance,  19,  23,  32,  59 
initiation,  112 

installation  of  ruler,  20,  in,  112 
Intihuatana,  134,  214,  215 
Iguaque,  1 1 

Iraca,  11,  12,  14,  17,  19 
Iraya,  152 
Irma,  151,  152 
irrigation,  39,  95,  119,  120,  220, 

221,  234 
Itaituba,  267 

Jimenez  de  la  Espada,  279 

Jimenez  de  Quesada,  23 

Jujuy,  216,  224,  233-234,  247, 

262 
justice,  109,  243 

Kakan,  224 
Keane,  A.  H.,  280 
Kunert,  282 

Lache,  26,  28 
Lafone-Quevedo,  S.A.,  230,  280, 

281 
Lagoa  dos  Patos,  264,  273 
Lagoa  Santa,  257 


INDEX  287 

Laguna,  258 

lakes  (sacred),    20,   21,    28,    30, 

31,66,85,  153,154,  245,246 

Lambayeque,  49-52,  54,  59,81, 

189,  190 
language,  1 89-1 91,  241 
La  Paz,  88,  174 
La  Plata  Is.,  58,  67,  72,  73 
La  Plata  R.,  2,  256,  268 
La  Rioja,  216,  224,  277 
Latcham,  R.  E.,  241,  281 
Leguisamo,  M.  S.  de,  153 
Lehmann-Nitsche,  R.,  281 
Lerma,  233,  235 
lightning,    150,    153,   157,    158, 

175,  181,  188,  244 
Lima,  96,  106,  181 
Linha,  274 
lip-ornaments,  25,  61,  129,  250, 

269,  272 
Liribamba,  66 
literature,  212 
litter,  18,  III,  167 
llama,   39,    59,    in,    122-124, 

156,  161,  163,  165,  167,  168, 

189,     217,     219,    222,    234, 

256 
Llampallec,  50,  51 
llautu,  56,  no,  112,  115,  129, 

149,  174 
Lloque   Yupanqui,  78,   87,  100, 

157 
Loa  R.,  218,  222 
L,obos,  251 
Loja,  108 
Long-heads,  4,   192,   218,   239, 

241,  242 
Los  Andes,  216 
Lucana,  76 
Lule,  234 

Magdalena,  10,  23,  38 
maguey,  121,  122 
maize,    34,    39,    40,    59,    117, 
121,  157,  160,  163,  165,  168, 
j        222,   225,   248 


288 


INDEX 


Manabi,  63-65,  67,  70,    72-74, 

81,  181,  184,  189 
Manco,    78-80,    86,    100,    112, 

i53»   157.   175 
Manizales,  35,  42-44 
Manta,  52,  59,  67 
manure,  120,  121,  220 
Maori,  116,  190 
maps,  215 
Maraca,  266,  268 
Marajo    Id.,     188,    264,     266- 

272 
Maranhao,  268 
Marcano,  G.,  277 
Markham,   Sir   C,    48,    75,    77, 

98,  119,  134,  160,  205,  212, 

213,  278,  279 
marriage,  22,  23,  101,105,  no, 

117,  159,  208,  245 
Matto  Grosso,  262,  268 
Maule  R.,  48,  75,  97,  loi,  216, 

220,  221,  240 
Maya,  177,  191 
Mayta  Ccapac,  78,  88 
Medina,  J.  T.,  281 
Mendoza,    236,    243,   248,   252, 

253.  254 
metallurgy,  40-42,  70,  103,  140, 


200,  212,  223 


'    ^-O^'    ^O' 


Mexicans,   7,   12,  29,   134,   207 

(See  also  Maya) 
Michua,  15,  16 
migrations,  10,  50,  52,  221,  241, 

242,  254,  256,  273 
Minas  Geraes,  257,  268 
mining,  103,  208 
Missiones,  262,  265,  266 
mitimaes,     75,     105,    197,    219, 

221 
Moche,  179,   181 
mojos,  2 
Mojos  L.,  2 

Molina,  C.  de,  160,  162 
Moluche,  240-242 
Montesinos,   F.,   77,  78,  80,  81, 

83-86,  88,   90,  91,  94,   100, 


102,    116,     168,     186,    187, 
189,   213,  220,   279 
moon-worship,    11,    25,    27,   66, 

I53»  154 
Mortillet,  A.  de,  210 
Moxo,  76 
mummies,   26,  34,  35,  64,  144- 

146,  148,  149,  153,  154,  156, 

157,  159,  167 
musical  instruments,  21,   31,   32, 

46 
Musters  L,,  245,  246,  252 
Muzo,    10,    12,    15,   24,   26,   T,2,* 

42,  43 

Nahua  {See  Mexicans),  7,  12,  29, 

279 
Nahuel-huape  L.,  253 
Nasca,  95,    106,  108,  119,  148, 

177,  179-186,  191,  196,  229 
Naymlap,  50,  51,  54 
Negro  R.  (Brazil),   267,  271 
Negro  R.  (Patagonia),  236,  240- 

242,  248,  252-254,  277 
Nemequene,  1 6,  I  7 
Nencatacoa,  27,  28 
Netto,  L.,  282 
Neuquen,  236,  243 
Nompanem,  14,  21 
nose-ornaments,   iS,    24,   25,  30, 

32,  35»  36,  61,  130,  250 
Nutabi,  9 

Observacion,  238,  251 

Oliva,  D.  de,  1 1 

Ollantaitambo,  133,  136-138, 
185-187,  214 

Ollantay,  212,  279 

Omaguaca,  234 

Ona,  242 

Ondegardo,  P.  de,  148,  279 

Orinoco  R.,  2,  256,  266,  268 

ornaments,  18,  20,  24,  25,  36,  45, 
61,62,110,129-132,225,234, 
250.  {See  ear-ornaments,  lip- 
ornaments,  nose-ornaments) 


INDEX 


289 


Otovalo,  59,  60,  68 
Outes,    F.    F.,    248 

281,  282 
Oviedo,  G.,  278 


,    252,    254, 


Paccari-tampu,  78 

Pachacamac  (god),  96,  151,  152, 

159 
Pachacamac  (place),  81,  95,  96, 

140-142,  146,  148,  159,  162, 

177-179,  182,  184,  186,  192, 

212 
Pachacuti,  78,  91-93,  102,  108, 

no,     116,    135,     147,    167, 

212,   215,  220 
Pachamama,  154,  225 
Pacoval  {See  Marajo) 
painting,  37,  250 
Palta,  49,  53,  55,  61 
Pampa,  106 
Pampas,  236,  237,  239,  241,  242, 

256,   273 
Pampas  Indians,  221,  240,   241, 

244,   246,   248,   272 
Panche,  15,  16,  22,  24,   26,  27, 

35'  39 
Para,  267-269 
Para  Id.,  266 
Paraguay,  255 
Paraguay  R.,  262,  269 
Paramonga,  106,  141,  147 
Parana    R.,    2,    255,    261,   262, 

268-270 
Paranapanema  R.,  270 
Parinacochas  L.,  88 
Paste,  49 
Patagonia,  2,  4,  236-254  passim, 

255,  277,  281,  282 
Paucartambo,  76,  108 
Peru,  9,    10,   17-19,  25-27,31, 

34.  36,  37»   39.  44»  47.  49. 
62,  63,  72,  73,  75-215,  216, 
224-226,  228,  229,  232,  234, 
248,  274-276,  278-280 
pictographs,  49,  234,  273,  274 
Picunche,  220,  221,  240 


Piedrahita,  L.  F.  de,  23,  277 

pilgrimages,  164 

Pillan,  244 

pipes,  269,  273 

Pisac,  214 

Pisco,  95 

Pizarro,  Hernando,  164 

Polynesians,  76,  n6,  189-191 

Popayan,  9,  10,  44 

Porto  Viejo,  65,  150 

posts,  108 

potato,  39,  59,    121,   168,  189, 

190 
Potosi,  88,  209,  210 
pottery,  4,  10,  40,  42,   44,   45, 

61.    71-73.    129,    175,   178- 

188,192-199,  218,  219,224, 

227-230,  233,  250,  258-275 
priests,  32,  S3^  3^>  §5.  i59.  160, 

164,  245 
provinces,  105,  109,  no 
Puelche,    240,    242,    244,    248, 

250,   252-254 
Puenche,  240-242,  249 
Puna  Id.,  57,  67,  69,   70 
Puna  de  Atacama,  216-218,  221 
Puna  de  Jujuy,  217,  218,  221 
Puruha,     49,     53,    55,    61,    64, 

71,  72,  228 
pyramids,  141,  142,  147,  179 

Quebrada  de  Humahuaca,  234 
QuebradadelToro,  224,  233,  235 
Quemuenchatocha,  15,  17 
Querandies,  242,  248,  250 
Quetzalcoatl,  1 2 
Quichua,   75,    76,  90,   91,    129, 

150,  151,  213 
Quillacinga,  49,  61,  71 
Quimbaya,  9,  10,   18,  22-27,  7° 
quinoa,  121 
quipus,    44,    83,    102,    103,    loS, 

109,  1 16 
Quito,  47-49,  52-56,  64,  66,  83, 

96-98,    108,    138,    198,   213, 

214 


290 

Quitu,  49,  52,  53,  64 


INDEX 


Rainbow,  13,  29,  iii,  154 

Ramiriqui,  11,  12,  14 

Ray,  S.  H.,  189 

Recuay,  183,  230 

Reiss,  W.,  145,  280 

Religion,  17,  18,  27-34,  45,  66, 

67,  81,  83,  85,  92,  95,  96, 

149-167,  187-189,  220,  224, 

225,  244,  245 
Restrepo,  V.,  278 
Restrepo-Tirado,  E.,  278 
Ribeira  R.,  274 
Rimac,  96,  160 
Riobamba,  49,  59,  68 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  268 
Rio   Grande  do   Sul,   263,    268, 

269,  272-274 
roads,  55,  56,  94,  106-108 
Rocca,  78,  89,  100,  116 
Rosario,  261 

sacred  lakes,  20,  21,  28,  30,  31, 

66,  85,  153,  154,  245,  246 
Sacsahuaman,  84,  138,  185 
Saguanmachica,  15,  16 
Salcamayhua,  212,  279 
Salinas  Grandes,  223,  224,  233 
salt,  23,  40,  164,  223,  249 
Salta,  216,  224,  233,  262 
sambaqui,  257-260,  268 
San  Agustin,  38,  194,  275 
San  Bias,  253 
sandals,  113,  131,  250 
San  Juan,  224,  277 
San  Luis,  236 

San  Paulo,  260,  263,  268,  274 
San  Pedro,  233 
San  Pedro  de  Atacama,  224 
Santa,  96 

Santa  Catalina,  222,  232 
Santa  Catharina,  258,  259,  268 
Santa  Cruz,  248,  252-254,  277 
Santa  Fe  (Argentina),  236 
Santa  Fe  (Mexico),  207 


Santa  Maria,  227,  228 
Santander,  276 
Santarem,  266,  267,  271 
Santillan,  F.  de,  151 
Sarmiento   de   Gamboa,   86,   87, 

89-91,  106,  215,  279 
Saville,  M.  H.,  65,  278 
Schmidt,  M.,  280 
sea- worship,  67,  154 
Seco  R.,  252 

shell-mounds,  3,  218.  See  snmbjiqui 
Sierras  Coloradas,  252 
Sigsig,  66,  70 

silver,  41,  208-210,  250,  274 
Simon,  P.,  14,  38,  277 
Sine  hi,  100 

Sinchi  Rocca,  78,  80,  84,  86,  87 
Siu-Yacu,  84,  85 
sky-god,    150,    158,    177,    181, 

188,  244 
slavery,  22 

slings,  69,  113,  129,  197,  212 
snake-worship,   28,  66,   67,    156 
Sogamoso,  12,  13,  37 
Sondar-huasi,  134 
souls,  34,  144,  161,  226,  246 
spear-thrower,  25,  69,   125,  174, 

179 
spmdie-whorls,  44,  73,  225,  253 
spinning,  103,  104,  205 
Squier,    E.    G.,    1 35,    136,    140, 

162,  279 
StefFen,  M.,  280 
Steinen,  K.  von  den,  282 
stone  implements,  4,  38,  45,  62, 

67-69,    74,    218,    222,    223, 

238,  243,  248,  251-254,  258, 

260,  268,  269,  271,  272. 
stone-working,    38,   39,    63,    64, 

67,   74,    103,    132-138,    169, 

170,  173,  174,  185,  207,  208, 

218,  223,  259,  260 
stone-worship,    28,    66,    67,    80, 

85»  146,  153.  '54,  156,  224 
Stiibel,  A.,  145,  168,  276,  278- 
280 


INDEX 


291 


Sucre,  90 

sun-worship,  11,  25,  27,  28,  31, 
66,  80,  85,  87,  92,  95,  152- 

156,  159,  164-167,  224 

Tamahi,  9,  12,  13 

Tampu-tocco,  78,  83,  116 

Tandil,  251 

tanga,  265,  266 

Tapajos  R.,  267 

Taperinha,  271 

Tapes,  264,  272,  273 

tapestry,  200-202 

Tarapaca  (god),  151 

Tarapaca  desert,  3,  48,  108,  216, 

217,  219 
tattooing,  61,  62,  132 
Tehuelche,  241,  242,  245-250 
Tempellec,  51,  52 
temples,  30,  33,  34,  66,  79,  87, 

95,  96,  112,   135,    136,  141, 

142,  145,  148,  156,  161,  162, 

164,  165,  178 
Ternaux-Compans,  H.,  279 
terrace-cultivation,  119,  134,  222, 

226 
thunder,  224,  244 
Tiahuanaco,  108,  135,  138,  150, 

157,  168-188,  191,  197,  201- 
203,  206-208,  210,  276,  280 

Tinogasta,   183,  217,   227,   228, 

230 
Tisquesusa,  i  7 
Titicaca  Is.,  133,  156,  162-164, 

187,  198,  214,  280 
Titicaca   L.,   60,    87,    89,    108, 

125,  i35»  i5o>  i54»  168,  187, 

219 
Toa,  53 
Toba,  234 

tobacco,  40,  269,  273 
Tocantins  R.,  3,  257,  268 
Toconote,  234 
tolas ^  64 

Tolima,  29,  30,  35 
Token  R.,  240 


Tomangata,  15 

Tomay-huaraca,  91 

Tonapa,  150,  151 

tooth-mutilation,  58,  62,  223 

Torres,  L.  M.,  281 

trade,  23,  24,  40,  219,  223,  249 

transmigration,  28,  246 

tree-worship,  224 

tribute,    21,    24,    96,     102-105, 

no.  III,  208,  220 
Trombetas  R.,  267,  269,  271,272 
trumpet,  71,  195 
Truxillo,    51,    54,    81,    93-95, 

140,  141,  148,  154,  179-181, 

183,  184,  186,  191-196,  211, 

212,  276 
Tsuma,  12 
Tucuman,  81,  93,  213,  216,  224, 

235 
Tumbal,  67 
Tumbala,  57 

Tumbez,  48,  57,  108,  190 
Tumebamba,  112 
Tundama,  13,  14 
Tunja,  11-17,    19,   22 
Tupac  Amaru,  93,  no 
Tupac  Yupanqui,  55-57,  78,  93, 

97,  106,  148,  213,  220 
Tupi,  256,  270,  271,  273 
turquoise,  206,  207 
Tutasua,  15 
twins,  23,  66,  148,  158 

Ubaque,  31 

Ucayale  R.,  271 

Ucho,  78,  89,  112 

Uhle,  M.,  75,  140,  141,  146, 
148,  151,  162,  168,  175,  177, 
179,  181,  184,  185,  214,  276- 
280 

Uiracocha  (god),  12,  81,  85,  91, 

i35»  i5o-i52>  157.  i59»  160, 

167,  168,  174 
Uiracocha    (Inca),     78,    89-92, 

94,  120,  135,   148,  157,   220 
Ulmen,  243,  249 


292 


INDEX 


Ultima  Esperanza,  237 

Umina,  67 

Urco,  91 

Urcos,  129 

urn-burial,  34,  35,  46,  65,  66, 
148,  219,  22b-228,  233,  234, 
260,  266,  268,  270,  271,  273 

Uros,  219 

Uruguay,  255,  262,  268,  269, 
270,  272,  273 

Uscovilca,  90 

Valdivia,  236,  240 

Valera,  B.,  77 

Velasco,  J.  de,  58,  64,  78,  278 

Venezuela,     i,     10-12,     44-46, 

.  273,  275,  277 
vicuna,  iii,  122-124 
Viedma,  253 
Vilcamayu  R.,  75,  136 
Vilcas,  107 
Villa  Rica,  240 

war,  24-26,  249,  250 

weapons,  25,  45,  113,  210-212, 

218,  222,  223,  230,  246,  249, 

250 


weaving,   4,    9,    44,    103,    104, 

III,  122,  133,  199-205,  223, 

225,  250 
whistles,  73,  196 
Wichama,  151 
Wiener,     C,     106,     107,    210, 

279 
wood-carving,  205,  206 
writing,  41,  44,  65,  76,  77,  83, 

102 

Xauxa,  76,  94,  106,  107,  145 
Xeres,  F.,  279 
Xingu,  R.,  256,  272 

Yahuarhuaccac,  78,  90,  91,  94 
Yea,  54,  95,  148,  180,  181,  197, 

204,  229 
Yocavil  Valley,  227 
Yucay,  129 

Yunca,  76,  95,  129,  141 
Yupanqui,  78 

Zapana,  89,  90,  92 
Zaran,  106 

Zarate,  A   de,  70,  278 
Zarate  (Argentina),  261 


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